Francis Ward Passes Two and Half Year Test
04 October 2005
It has been two and half years since Francis Ward, UK manufacturer or rotationally moulded plastic drums, took over the established intermediate bulk container manufacturer Bison IBC Systems Ltd. Just like the UN approved containers Francis Ward now manufacture for the hazardous market that require a two and half year test, the company has reviewed how it is operating and made significant investments for the future.
While last year was tough for the IBC market, Francis Ward emerged buoyant and bullish. With the success of increased productivity, the company has reinvested heavily in the business to sustain and increase the growth. This month a new £150,000 Caccia RB3502B Rotational Moulding Machine is being installed. Such investment was necessary to maintain output capacity and in the future, once up and running, reduce certain lead times for customers. Jason Hinch - Operations Manager believes the new machine will allow the business an 'extra competitive edge in the market place'.
Further investment fuelled by increased sales can be found in the sales team itself. The addition of Henry Bisson as the Marketing Assistant in 2004, Nick Harris - Regional Business Manager and Lisa Jackson - Sales Administrator earlier this year has enabled Francis Ward to be more responsive to customer needs and develop new markets.
Sales Manager David Horn stresses that the growth experienced is through listening to customers and being able to give them want they want. Such close working relationships with customers have led to the development of innovative products that have been rolled out in 2005. The Safety Air Feed, designed in conjunction with Univar is being fitted to their fleet and other customer's fleets of pressure discharge bins. The testing and repair of IBCs, referred to earlier, has been launched this year with customers expressing a strong interest in having the original manufacturer testing and servicing their units.
Looking forward, the company is in the process of expanding new markets in Europe. With distributors already operating in Spain Portugal and France, activities are underway to find long term partners in a host of European countries, particularly Scandinavia, Switzerland and Germany.
Francis Ward has also reorganised the branding of its containers to bring them all under the Francis Ward name. This has removed confusion for UK customers with other companies trading on the Bison name. The company simply states that customers looking for what they know as traditional Bison units should contact Francis Ward.
