As the 2024 Leeds Manufacturing Festival gets underway, Vickers Oils has announced the opening of a new purpose-built facility in Hunslet, Leeds, dedicated to the manufacture of food-grade lubricants and greases.
The new 10,898 sq ft manufacturing facility has been developed in response to demand from consumers, who are increasingly concerned about the provenance, quality and safety of what goes in the shopping basket. “That is the primary reason for building a dedicated manufacturing site” states managing director Paul Vann.
Vickers Oils is a privately-run family business established in the UK in 1828, with a 70-strong team based at its main manufacturing facility at Airedale Mills. It enjoys a worldwide reputation as a reliable and innovative formulator, manufacturer and supplier of high performance, speciality lubricants for the worldwide marine and textiles markets.
In 2002, it launched the world’s first biodegradable, marine stern tube oil and now supply thousands of vessels globally with an award-winning range of environmentally acceptable lubricants (EALs).
Located just two miles from the Airedale Mills factory , the new site is another first for Vickers Oils – entirely self-contained, it is believed to be the only large-scale facility of its kind in the UK.
All raw materials and finished products on site will be food grade only, thereby significantly eliminating the risk of any cross-contamination with the type of non-food grade chemicals that would typically be present in abundance on a multi-purpose site.
Whilst personnel will move between the two sites in Leeds, the manufacturing team will have dedicated clothing for the new site as another example of contamination avoidance.
The new facility also includes a quality control laboratory and training suite. With a modular design to easily enable increased scale with business growth, the mains electricity supply from renewable resources will be complemented by a full array of roof-mounted solar panels.
The investment is a clear statement of intent for Vickers Oils’ current and future customers in the food industry. Working closely with channel partners, the business is committed to continuous improvement in its products, services and solutions to benefit food and associated manufacturing equipment, operations and last, but by no means least, industry compliance.
Vickers Oils’ Food Grade products are manufactured according to ISO 9001;2015 and ISO 21469 standards, are Halal and Kosher certified and NSF H1 & 3H registered.
“Now, as the company approaches 200 years in business, we are excited to deliver solutions with a reputation for quality, integrity and service based on a range of products and an ambition for leadership to set a new standard for the food and beverage industry,” said Mr Vann.
