| A
vending company that has spent the last two decades
quenching the thirst of a generation is looking forward
to
its next 20 years in business.
UK Automatic Vending Supplies Limited or UKAVSL, has
evolved into an established producer and nation-wide
distributor of beverages to the vending and catering
industry – recently winning a nomination in the
prestigious ‘AVS Ingredient
Supplier of the Year Award’ in Portugal.
Back in 1986 UKAVSL selected St Helens as a base because
two of the three executive directors lived in Merseyside
and the town offered plenty of factory space and a willing
and able workforce to tap into.
The company was set up with the help of Regional Development
Assistance in the form of Department of Trade and Industry
grants.
“The company was established with the objective
of supplying the vending trade with the full range of
high quality ingredients including coffee, tea, drinking
chocolate mixes, sugar, soups and syrups,” explained
joint managing director Ron Stott (finance and business
development) who runs the company alongside Fekade Zewde,
who has responsibility for sales and operations.
“We were committed to delivering nationally, in
company vehicles, driven by company drivers. The twin
objectives of selling quality products through companycontrolled
transportation had a limiting effect on growth, but
established a close bond with our customers.”
The company initially rented a 6,500 sq ft unit in the
Sherdley
Road Industrial Estate from St Helens Council. The rapid
expansion of the business prompted a move in 1992 across
the road to a new 8,500 sq ft unit on a development
let by English Partnerships.
This move doubled the palletracking capacity and provided
ample space for additional packing machinery. In 2001,
expansion of the business prompted the company to take
a short let on their old unit to accommodate the syrup
production unit and provide additional storage.
“The mainstay of the manufacturing process is
the packing of pillow pack ingredients which is presented
as the ‘Classic
Range,” added Ron Stott. “By 1994 the distribution
of In-cup
ingredients was generating inventory management problems
without a compensating profit stream.”
This
prompted the company to launch the ‘Inpax’
range of In-cup ingredients, manufactured in house.
In recent years the company has targeted larger vending
operators as customers, who demand that the ingredients
sold to them are presented in their ‘own label’
packaging. This requirement for ‘own label’
packaging has created a constant demand for innovative
design services, which have been provided over the last
20 years by local design consultant Bob Read who has
provided a flow of ideas. All major areas of the UK
are now supplied, as well as Ireland and the Middle
East
The
company acknowledges the key factor in the success
of the company has been its stable workforce, the majority
of
whom live within the St Helens area. Some 38 people
are
currently employed by UKAVSL, which has also proved
it has a social conscience by achieving registration
as a supplier with
the Fair Trade Foundation. The company launched its
Classic
Fair Trade Collection in 2004 in response to increasing
consumer awareness of the Fair Trade movement’s
objective to give Third World producers a better deal.
In addition to selling to the vending trade, the company
has
established a link with the public sector. In 1996 the
company was awarded a contract to supply NHS Logistics
with In-cup beverages. In 2004, a new contract was awarded
including selected items of Fair Trade In-cup beverages.
The company now works with a state of the art computer
network and a website, with plans for an online ordering
system. “We are now looking forward to the next
20 years,” added Ron Stott.
To
learn more about UKAVSL, visit their website
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