REGULAR
Brigger & Better!
In this month’s column, Matt Baines of Premiere Products hopes to clear up any rumours as he tells us the full story of their recent acquisition by James Briggs Ltd.
I have written frequently within these pages of my enthusiasm and affection for the British cleaning industry and as each and every year goes by, I continue to feel justified in feeling like I do.
As an example, two of the things I most specifically love about our industry are its ability to really get under the skin of those who spend any time working within it and the apparent scarcity of ‘glass ceilings’.
However whilst I generally prefer to consider myself a “glass half full” kind of person, I would also like to think that I don’t view everything through rose tinted glasses.
With this in mind it has to be said that there are certain facets of the industry that do niggle at times. Amongst these is the ever present rumour mill and its ability to take the smallest grain of truth and distort it beyond recognition.
In point of fact the core subject matter of this article is aimed at clarifying the current situation as regards Premiere Products and dispelling any inaccurate gossip and supposition that may be gaining momentum as I write.
On 21st April 2015 the Premiere Polish Company Ltd (trading as Premiere Products) went into administration as the result of an irretrievable deficit in its pension fund. On the very same day the business was bought out of administration by James Briggs Ltd.
Let me be clear on the most fundamental issue – it is unequivocally the intention of James Briggs to continue in the manufacture
28
and supply of the high quality cleaning chemical ranges for which Premiere has become renowned. In so doing we will also ensure that there is little to no transitional impact on the supply chain for our existing network of distributors and end user customers who will also go on benefitting from the after sales support, training and advice upon which they have come to rely. It is also clear that the acquisition opens up some exciting future opportunities for both the parent and the subsidiary company.
In the first instance, there are a good number of immediately identifiable similarities between James Briggs and Premiere. For example both have a long history and strong sense of heritage, with James Briggs being founded in 1830 and Premiere just slightly shy of 100 years later in 1924. However it may in truth be the differences that exist between the two which provide the greatest opportunities.
James Briggs manufacture a wide range of products including paints, lubricants, cleaning fluids and polishes for a similarly broad range of sectors. I’m sure a good number of you are familiar with the Nilco brand, which is the most similar in terms of type to the products offered by Premiere. Whilst Nilco has a strong presence in the Cash & Carry and HoReCa categories (sectors in which Premiere has previously had a very small footprint), its presence in Education, FM and Contract Cleaning is not as prominent.
"It is clear that the acquisition opens up some exciting future opportunities for both the parent and the subsidiary company."
I have already personally been present at meetings during which exciting opportunities have presented themselves as a simple result of cross-pollinating the James Briggs and Premiere product ranges – that is to say filling historic gaps in both offerings with pre-existing products/formulations from one range to the other.
Having said all of this, at the point that I am putting pen to paper we are still only a couple of weeks into the acquisition and there is a lot yet to learn. However speaking personally as a newly made employee of James Briggs, I can honestly say that I would vote every time to be part of “Premiere Products, a subsidiary of James Briggs Ltd” than to see the whole thing lost to the Administrators.
In this way the brand we have all worked so hard to create is protected and faces a very promising future indeed.
www.premiereproducts.co.uk
www.tomorrowscleaning.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80