A Somerset company which manufactures a range of innovative, research based probiotic products has increased its turnover by 40 per cent and is exporting to over 50 countries after investing £500,000 in state-of-the-art equipment following support from the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS).
Probiotics International, which is based in Lopen Head and supplies the veterinary, human, agriculture and equine healthcare markets, has benefited from a detailed analysis of its production processes. Led by MAS, it quickly became apparent that some equipment was not operating as efficiently as it could and other machinery needed replacing.
Toby Lewis, Managing Director, Probiotics International, said: “A number of our team leaders attended a MAS workshop on lean manufacturing where they were introduced to tools and techniques that enabled them to look at the business from a different perspective. They were able to visualise how significant improvements could be made through reduced changeover and cycle times and generally in how we do things. We went away from the project empowered to implement changes for the good of the business.”
Matthew John, MAS Advisor for Somerset, said: “Working closely with the team at Probiotics, we identified some key process bottlenecks within the manufacturing process. Resolving these has enabled the company to launch a number of new projects that have been really important to the growth of the business.
“It is encouraging to find a growing company that exports worldwide that works hard to source many of its products and services locally and within the UK. Probiotics benefits from a local supply chain with direct contact, short lead times and sustained quality.”
