Service
HC Innovations a market leader in innovating through improving, designing and manufacturing hygiene products and systems. With over 30 years at the coalface of the cleaning and hygiene industry we have a wealth of experience working with the end users of our products and our network of distributors. The company HCI Cleaning Supplies was founded by Andrew Davis back in the early 1990’s who saw a need in the market for a supplier of cleaning and hygiene products that could provide impeccable customer service and rapid delivery.
HCI - Wipe Manufacturer
It all began by selling hand cleaners from a very small office and a couple of shipping containers for storage! Andrew worked closely with end users all over Scotland to establish their needs for cleaning and hygiene products and the range gradually grew as more product lines were added. With a focus on facilities management, cafes, restaurants, schools and food processing factories HCI established a strong and well serviced customer base extending to a nationwide UK coverage. As the business continued to grow there was a new focus on the food processing market where HCI started to look at ways that products could be improved and designed to increase efficiency and control companies’ expenditure. Having been in the industry for several years, at that time HCI could see where the challenges were in the sector and focused on improving processes and products to make the end users job easier. This is where HCI began the transition and became a manufacturer which is now what HC Innovations is known best for.
Focus on Wipe Innovation
As we continued our journey of innovations, we started to produce a range of products such as the Guard® protective clothing range and the StationAll® shadow board systems. Wipes for the food processing industry quickly followed becoming an area where product transformation and quality could be improved upon. Our newly established lab began to design and test some Industry First products including the renowned CentreTug® Dry Wiper for use in food processing areas. As our customer base continued to hear about and use the CentreTug® range we started to be asked what further wiping products do HC Innovations manufacturer. At this point HCI started increased research resource in to wipes for different industries and launched the Vinco Wipe® brand.
Distributor Network
Building on the success of the newly launched Vinco Wipe® range, the strategic decision was made to distribute the wipe products now manufactured through a network of resellers rather than concentrating on providing wipe products direct to the end user. This had many benefits but most importantly that a quality product became easily accessible to end users through a group of distributors nationwide. This meant that users were able to purchase the Vinco Wipe® brand easily and quickly receive delivery of wherever they were based in the UK.
Vinco Wipe® Manufacturing
Following the making and distributing of the ever-popular CentreTug® Dry Wipe, HC Innovations turned its attention to the cleaning and sanitising wipe market and purchased two semi-automatic rewind machines and a tub/cannister filling machine. This opened the way for a comprehensive range of tub wipes to be manufactured but with the ability to roll out a range of different wipe and different solutions for multiple needs. Most popular became the anti-bac and anti-viral sanitising wipes which has grown massively over the years. Although this set up produced a quality product, it was still quite labour intensive and there became a point where demand for the Vinco® range outstripped our production capacity leading to the purchase of three further lines and expansion of the production workforce to run and maintain these. The large increase in demand of sanitising wipes during the recent Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a sixth modern rewinding machine being added to the production setup along with an additional filling and lidding line.
Larger Capacity
The end of 2021 saw HC Innovations relocate to new premises which included larger offices, expanded product testing facilities, an extensive new warehouse complex and a new purpose-built clean room standard production area.
The production area now not only houses the afore mentioned equipment but is now also home to a state of the art fully automatic rewinding and slitting machine system which was commissioned in April of this year. Coupled to this is a Quad Input Filling Machine and Automatic Labeller with the combined force of this equipment increasing production capacity by 700%! This is a much-needed uplift in production capacity as we continue to support our distributors of the Vinco Wipe® brand grow their sales and to also support global brands with their private label wipes portfolio.
As I write this, one of our engineers is currently at a UK filling line manufacturer carrying out the final equipment specification checks to a Multiple Head Filling Line prior to commissioning at our production plant early next month. This latest filling technology will ensure that filling capabilities are sufficient to meet the high number of wipes produced by the rewinding and slitting machines plus provides a third filling line which mitigates the risk of a line being out of action for any reason.
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This new equipment will also ensure an increase in quality and product manufacturing accuracy ensuring we adhere to our continuous improvement policy and drive for product quality. Also due to the high automation of this equipment, it will mean that existing operatives will be able to run this equipment with no extra operatives being required even though the machinery has the capability of a 700% production uplift! This extra capacity with existing staff means that cost savings achieved can be pushed through the supply chain so our distributors can in turn increase their competitiveness to the market.
HC Innovations continue to expand their product portfolio and push further afield and into different markets. With the exciting investment into modern and incredibly high production capacity machine we are set for some ambitious growth in wet and dry wipes with a keen focus on the away from home wipes.