News Archive

UPL goes from strength to strength as Jane Harmer joins the team   Print This Article		08/01/2007
14 years after setting up Harmer Personal Care, Jane Harmer has decided to join the UPL management team as Associate Director for Customer Development. Mike Peters, MD of UPL comments that ‘Jane is very well respected within the personal care industry & her reputation & passion for her work is greatly valued. Her mix of technical & commercial experience gives her a unique perspective to help & support UPL’s customers. We are delighted that Jane has agreed to join our team.’
UPL’s ongoing commitment to employee development reaps rewards.   Print This Article		01/12/2006
UPL is committed to the personal development of its employees and is delighted to already have over 40 people who have volunteered for and successfully passed NVQ’s in Business Improvement Techniques with Preston College. Having a motivated and well trained workforce leads to improvements in both performance and quality across the business. Congratulations to the most recent group on successfully gaining their new qualifications. Anne Peck – NVQ Level 2 Janet Sandham – – NVQ Level 3 Pauline Rigby – NVQ Level 2 Janet Cork – NVQ Level 3 Christine Short – NVQ Level 2 Carolyn Hartley – NVQ Level 2 Matt Clayton – NVQ Level 2 James McManamy – NVQ Level 2 Stacy Fletcher – NVQ Level 2 Thomas Lund – NVQ Level 2 Carol Beckett – NVQ Level 3 Not shown are: Jason Christian, Steven Harris and Lee Mayer all NVQ Level 2. The plan for the future is to involve all successful students in the implementation of improvements throughout the business, including Continuous Improvement and Quality, so that all areas of the business can benefit from UPL’s commitment to the personal development of its employees.
UPL earns highest international safety accreditation   Print This Article		01/11/2006
UPL has been successful in earning accreditation to OHSAS 18001, the internationally recognised Occupational Safety and Health Management System. Our focus on health & safety is an integral part of every department and we were delighted in being described as ‘’The Best Contract Manufacturer I have ever audited’’ – by the BSC awareness assessor. Formal accreditation by the British Safety Council reflects the increased safety focus and commitment by the whole team at UPL. During the past 18 months a formal Safety Action Plan has been implemented covering policy, procedures training, auditing and other criteria including HSE safety surveys across the whole business. Our strong safety management systems are good news for our business as other notable added benefits include a significant reduction in ‘lost time’ due to accidents and an increased reporting of ‘near misses’ that in turn reduces the chance of accidents happening in the future. This all helps to reinforce why UPL is the UK’s most successful private contract manufacturer.
Congratulations on 30 successful years & thank you to the people who have helped us to achieve this!   Print This Article		03/08/2006
From humble beginnings in 1976 UPL has grown from strength to strength and it is a great achievement to have built a company with ethics and a reputation in the field that is second to none. UPL are respected throughout the industry and everyone in the company has played a part in this, as it is the people who make UPL the strong company that it is. So on July 22nd we held a Family Fun Day to thank everyone (past and present) who has played a part in UPL’s continued success, and a Fun Day really was had by all! The sun shone, the games began and the laughter roared… with the family spirit of UPL staying strong in both work and play. There are not many companies who can say that over 20% of their employees have been with them for over 10 years, and have 45% of their employees giving more than 5 years of loyalty. UPL has always had a philosophy of nurturing and developing its employees – and many of them can proudly claim to have come up through the ranks. Success comes from within – and many of UPL’s employees have personally grown and developed to contribute to UPL’s 30 years of success. So here’s to the next 30 years and many more successes on the way!
New Nordern Tube Machine means 20 million filled tubes a year for UPL   Print This Article		24/04/2006
UPL‘s new tube machine is made by the Swedish firm Nordern & the model is a Nordernmatic 702. The machine will give UPL the ability to produce ‘design-a-seal’ tubes where the sealed end of the tube is in a curved shape rather than a plain flat seal, although it can also produce the standard flat sealed tubes. The machine is capable of producing up to 80 tubes per minute & will double UPL’s tube filing capacity to 20 million tubes per year. The machine is designed to fill plastic or plastic / laminate tubes & UPL will be the first company in the UK to purchase the NM702 machine. To accompany the machine UPL has also purchased a Nordern store magazine which automatically loads tubes into the tube filler on demand. To work with the new tubefiller UPL are also buying a Mettler Toledo Garvens S2 in line check weigher. This will check the fill weight of each tube when it leaves the tubefiller & will be used to produce accurately filled tubes as well as assisting with UPL’s in house QC checks.
UPL’s Manufacturing Capacity has increased by up to 30%   Print This Article		14/02/2006
UPL has undergone a manufacturing equipment upgrade programme that offers greater flexibility and increased capacity for customers. Two 6000 litre shampoo type cold mix tanks have been upgraded with one vessel benefiting from the addition of a fixed in place discharge / recirculation pump, capable of pumping up to 12000 litres per hour. This tank has also had a new hygienic inlet / outlet diaphragm valve fitted, which has been automated. The second tank has also been modified in the same way, but in addition it has had a low level recirculation point included, & a new ‘gel’ type mixer has been fitted to the vessel. A new 3000 litre vessel has also been purchased to work in conjunction with the other 2 larger vessels. This vessel has the facility to heat up to 90C & cool the mix as well (to around 20 – 30C) and it has been manufactured to full vacuum spec. The new vessel is fitted with the same pump & valves as the larger vessels & also includes a variable speed turbine mixer. All 3 vessels are controlled from a central control panel utilising PLC’s. This equipment upgrade will give UPL a far greater capacity (as much as 30% in some cases) & flexibility for manufacturing a wider range of bulk liquids. The system will initially handle hair, skin, body, & shaving type products, but it is capable of handling a much wider product range.
UPL Sponsors Susan Hilton in World Triathlon Games   Print This Article		25/01/2006
The 2005 Triathlon Age Group World Championship took place recently in Honolulu, and consisted of a 1500m sea swim, 40km bike and 10km run. The GB team was chosen from a series of 3 selection races in the UK during the summer. Finishing in the top five in your age group in any of the three races guaranteed a place on the team (with a further 3 places being awarded at the British Triathlon Association’s discretion). The age group world championships are essentially for mature athletes, most of whom hold down a full-time job and train in their spare time. All the races are split into age group categories, so that you only compete against people of your own age (i.e. 19-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39 etc etc). The oldest person to complete the race was an 83 year old man, who was selected because he was essentially competing against people in the 80-85 category. It’s a great way to manage the event as it means the sport is very inclusive and remains very competitive no matter what age you are. Susan competed in the Female 25-29 category and was placed 49th out of the 104 worldwide entrants in this category. This was an excellent result and one to be very proud of. After the event Susan had the following words to say about her experience: ‘ I didn't have a good swim as the waves were quite choppy which is something I wasn't used to, and there was also a lot of coral to negotiate around, but I really enjoyed the bike course as it was very scenic and a lot of the course followed the coast so there was a lovely breeze. The run was very hard as the temperature was extremely hot (around 35 degrees with high humidity) but as it was around the streets of Honolulu the crowds support was amazing and really pushed me along.’ UPL want to congratulate Susan on her performance in Honolulu and wish her every success as she trains for the next World Championships in Switzerland in 2006.
UPL has signed a five-year deal with a Polish pharmaceutical company.   Print This Article		01/11/2005
UPL has signed a five-year deal with a Polish pharmaceutical company that will see the Lancashire-based firm export to eastern Europe for the first time. UPL clinched the contract after being shortlisted from a tendering process that included companies from across Europe. Behind-the-scenes negotiations have been going on for 18 months. The agreement will see UPL supply over-the-counter pharmaceuticals (OTCs) to Polish outfit Unilab, which serves the Polish and other eastern European healthcare markets. It is the first time the Lancashire firm, which specialises in pharmaceuticals and personal care preparations, will export to Poland and comes shortly after the eastern European country was welcomed into the European Union. UPL’s managing director Mike Peters said: “We’re especially delighted to win this contract because Unilab’s products are usually manufactured in the United States. They wanted to bring manufacturing closer to home so we had to fight off competition from a European-wide shortlist of companies to land this deal. “We are looking forward to working with Unilab because they are a similar company to Universal in that they are currently experiencing good growth. They also have an interesting mix of enterprise and ambition which is based on a solid foundation. “When the respective management teams first met it was clear the two companies could work together.” Due to the two managing directors’ hectic diaries, the deal was finally struck in a flying visit to Barcelona. The contract is good news for the 270 staff at the Lancashire factory. Mike Peters added: “This deal gives us a foothold in an important and fast developing region of Europe. I’d like to say to the Polish company ‘welcome to the European Union and welcome to Lancashire!’”