Taylor bins marks 50th anniversary at RWM

Taylor, theUK’s leading supplier of metal bins,marked its 50th anniversary at the RWM exhibition in Birmingham this week and outlined plans for future growth.

Company chief executive David Williams explained how the multi-million pound turnover business, based on a 20-acre site in Worcestershire, has come a long way since being started up as a family firm by Egbert H Taylor in 1962.

50 years ago this was a small metal bashing company in a West Midlands town called Cradley Heath. It was started by Egbert H Taylor and when he handed the business onto his sons they got interested in supplying waste containers and saw a market opportunity in design and production, he said.

We have now sold 1.5 million steel containers into the UK market and are now owned by investors. Our aspiration is to grow other services and globally.

Taylor is now owned by London environmental investors, Sullivan Street Partners and Oakfield Capital Partners, following a 15 million acquisition in October 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story), when Mr Williams was appointed chief executive. Previous to this, he was managing director and operations director at the company.

Overseas markets

At present, the company holds an 80% share in the market for four-wheel steel galvanised bins, and Taylor says this is still growing. However, the company is keen to develop new products and to sell to new, overseas markets, particularly while the UK market is depressed.

Mr Williams said: If you wind the clock back three years ago 70% of our turnover came from our core product, the 1100 galvanised steel bin. Having that much reliance on one product is not good. We have changed that.

An export strategy launched in May has seen the company already selling bins to countries including Malaysia and Nigeria, with a recent order coming from Kuwait for 500 of the companys node bins, which consists of four 800 litre containers around a central post, allowing a range of materials to be recycled.

The appointment of Julian Gaylor as sales and marketing director at the company earlier this year has also led to a more customer-based approach. Mr Gaylor re-joined Taylor from underground vacuum waste technology specialist Envac, where he was managing director.

Mr Williams explained: Our old route was to think of what customers need and to design a product. Julian brought a new direction to the business. He believes we should be market driven and ask customers what they want.

Our food waste 500 litre bin is an examples of this. Edinburgh council asked us to produce it as they had a need for communal food recycling facilities. We came up with a standard container with a few key adaptations. One of the requirements of the customer was that the public should not see rotting food when putting their food waste in. So we designed a flap which ensures this does not happen. It also has handles on the side to enable it to be lifted as it food waste is very heavy. From our customers perspective it was perfect.

Products

Alongside its standard four-wheel steel galvanised bin, node unit and food waste bin, Taylors products now also include the Street, a recycling centre casing for ugly containers with a curved design to encourage recycling, and its smaller cousin, the Mini Street.

Prices for bins range from around 250 for a simple steel bin to 2,000 for a node unit.
The company is also making much more use of the internet, with spare bins parts available for order online.

Mr Williams said: With the acquisition there has been new investment and energy in the business and we are looking at ways to expand as well as new acquisitions. Our turnover last year was 22 million and we forecast around 25 million this financial year.