| A SOUTH Tyneside company is aiming to sweep to success in 2012 – both at home and abroad. Cottam Brush, based at Monkton Business Park North, Hebburn, has endured two tough trading years. But it is now driving forward with a comprehensive design and development programme, including several new product ranges, and creating jobs again. The company is also poised to take greater advantage of foreign export markets, including the US. After some lay-offs, staff levels at the borough plant have returned to 35. And the company is on target to boost its turnover to £3m this year, beating last year's £2.9m figure. This week, the company unveiled a whole new range of paintbrushes for the UK market, after successfully boosting jobs and turnover. Managing director Ben Cottam, whose great, great, great grandfather, Samuel Cottam, founded the company in 1858, said: "Historically, we have always been good in terms of customer service and competitiveness, but our weakness has been a shortage of product development. "Our main objective is to be profitable, but we also need to move forward. "We have spent around a year working on these new products." "We will be attending an industrial exhibition in Houston, Texas, in the first week of February. "The aim is to move even further into the US export market with our new range of brushes for cleaning oil and gas pipelines, which we believe are better than others in the field." Mr Cottam added: "Staff levels will hover around 35 this year. "But as we push ahead with our product development, I would think we will certainly be taking on more people by 2013." Company sales director Kathy Bevan said: "Our new range has been designed in the UK and draws on more than 150 years of manufacturing experience. "It is the first time we have brought a fully-packaged retail-friendly range of products to the market under our own brand. "We've been pleased with a number of the initial feedback." |
Friday, 6 January 2012
Brush firm aims to make a clean sweep - Jarrow & Hebburn Gazette
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