Tues 14th March, Seaton Ross – Michael Lupton Associates Ltd (MLA) announced at the 2017 Home Office Security and Policing Event in Farnborough last week, that they have now brought leather and canvas production in house to their facility in Seaton Ross.
MLA, leaders in the Personal Protection Equipment and clothing field, have been in business for over 24 years. In 2016 they received a Textile Regional Growth Fund Grant, which facilitated the installation of a leather and canvas workshop fully equipped with state-of-the-art industrial machines and additional staff.
MLA recognised the need to diversify their offering and increase their production capacity. This required the purchase of new equipment, which was enabled by the grant and which in turn now allows them to venture into new markets.
Carl Wolf, MLA’s General Manager, said; “It’s a fantastic story all round. Great for employment in the rural locality where MLA are based, as we’ve quadrupled the number of staff we now employ; great for British manufacturing – but most importantly it’s great for our customers.”
“We can now work with clients on bespoke product development or modifications to an existing product and undertake small quantity orders.”
“We will also be able to target further export growth in the future”, continued Carl.
By on shoring production, MLA have shortened the supply chain with 90% of the products they now sell ‘Made in Britain’ – a majority of them produced in the Yorkshire-based workshop. The on-site sewing room, situated in the converted blacksmiths which was part of Seaton Ross’ village pub that Michael Lupton, MLA’s Managing Director, bought in 1998; also means better control of quality.
Stephanie Neathway, Head of the MLA Sewing Room, stated; “We can track back to exactly who has made each individual product. My team and I pride ourselves on producing top quality kit that won’t let officers down in the field.”
MLA also unveiled publicly for the first time a new and improved public order helmet.
“Merlin”, the prototype name for the project, was recently awarded an international patent. It has been developed collaboratively over a 3 year period to provide an improved level of head protection and comfort.
The new ‘Merlin’ helmet will soon be put into production at MLA’s helmet assembly plant in Market Weighton, which could potentially lead to the creation of further jobs for this rural area.