Tomorrow’s Cleaning Editor Martin Wharmby returns to Greyland Limited, as the company looks to the future after it celebrates a major milestone.
14 February 2024 wasn’t just the most romantic day of the year: it marked a major milestone anniversary for Greyland Limited. The company commenced trading on the same day back in 1999, making this the company’s 25th anniversary year, and the cleaning chemical manufacturer has a bright future ahead – certainly another 25 years or more.
It’s a remarkable achievement for the family-owned company which calls Dukinfield, Greater Manchester its home. Throughout the years the company has enjoyed continued expansion to provide an extensive and effective range of industrial and institutional cleaning chemical solutions for sectors including washrooms, floorcare, catering, handcare, housekeeping and many more.
Greyland has seen its fair share of challenges over the past two and a half decades, from the BSE and SARS crises of the early 2000’s to the recent COVID pandemic, but has come through all of them stronger.
Greyland’s CEO, Richard Dyson, said: “COVID-19 was a nightmare for everyone. We were crazy busy and then we had to partially shut down because most of our distributors had to shut down, because nearly all of their end users had to shut down. You didn’t know when you were going to start up again, so it was difficult to get going again.”
‘Get going’ is something that Greyland certainly did. With the increased focus on the industry and ‘proper’ cleaning in the wake of the coronavirus, the company has continued to grow from strength to strength as orders continued rolling in. It’s allowed the company to gradually expand its staffing to well above its pre-pandemic levels – currently at 58 people – as well as expand its space with the addition of recent outbuildings allowing the company to more easily deal with increasing demand.
One of the keys to Greyland’s continued success has been its focus on ensuring that their range of products isn’t too diluted or made too complex. This also allows the company to be focused but flexible, while still maintaining the ability to turn around orders quickly and efficiently.
Richard continued: “We call the product what it is, and try not to make jumbled up sales claims to confuse people. We package the product well in strong boxes and high-grade containers, with chemical-resistant labels. Customers know exactly what they’re getting from Greyland.
“We’ve been famous for having ‘the quickest deliveries in the industry’, and we’ve managed to keep that as the company’s grown. Most distributors are ordering weekly or fortnightly from us instead of monthly, as they know exactly when their orders are coming and they can rely on what’s in the container.”
Alongside its sales success, Greyland has strived to be a more responsible and environmentally friendly manufacturer. Alongside its Quality Management ISO’s (9001 and 14001), the business has been a proud recipient of Planet Mark certification for a few years now, highlighting the business’ sustainability efforts in a way that’s easy for customers to understand and trust.
Richard, who has sat on the Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association (CHSA) Council for three years, is also passionate about combatting the tide of sketchy companies making wild claims about their products without backing them up with proven efficacy tests. Greyland is a CMAS Accredited Manufacturer, a CHSA certification which gives everyone peace of mind that ‘what’s on the box is what’s in the box’, from the eco credentials to the accuracy of the volume.
In 2020 Greyland launched their Maximum Eco range, designed to be a modern solution for a sustainable future, and thanks to its huge success Greyland has continued to grow the range ever since. As well as the chemicals themselves being environmentally friendly, the packaging for Maximum Eco products contain 40% UK recycled polymer content. This means that the benefits of the recycled polymer aren’t offset by the extra transportation associated with importing the polymer from overseas.
Two of the biggest updates to the Maximum Eco range include the launch of 2L Super Concentrates, as well as the new Biotech range, which utilises UK-cultivated biotechnology. This technology works via eco-friendly bacteria colonising surfaces, releasing enzymes which can break down organic matter such as carbohydrates, fats and proteins. This removes soiling and eliminates nasty odours for an effective, long-lasting clean.
Richard reflected: “Over the course of 25 years, Greyland has steadily become an environmental cleaning chemical manufacturer, pretty much up there with the leaders in 2024. We’ve got some good long-term contracts here, and these are growing year-in, year out. The future’s looking bright for Greyland.”
