P&S Textiles Ltd in Cam, Dursley, Gloucestershire, UK, is celebrating 100 years of producing high-grade fabric conveyor belts. The company started its activity in 1917 and it has been supplying equipment to more than 50 countries.
P&S experienced a 30% sales turnover last year and – contrary to pre-Brexit warnings for exporters – the company’s centenary year’s sales growth is currently tracked at 20%.
The woven belt, known in the industry as a brayband, provides the surface on which biscuits travel through production facilities.
It is an indispensable process aid for modern plant bakeries – a process that has remained more or less unchanged for many decades, according to P&S Textiles.
The belts, supplied to big-name manufacturers including United Biscuits, Fox’s, Nestle and Walker’s, are made from a fine food-grade blend of high-quality cotton and durable fibers.
They extract dough shapes from rotary molding drums – the standard technique since the mass-production of biscuits began – and enable factories to make high volumes of product quickly and at relatively low-cost.
P&S, which employs 12 people, was acquired in 2000 by UK textiles group Arville, which invested in and updated the business, ensuring that it operates according to the latest ISO 9001 manufacturing standards.
Andy Smith, group head of marketing at Arville, said:
“As the world’s population increases and global food industry expands, P&S is busier than ever. Demand is at an all-time high. P&S is a great example of a small to medium enterprise with a long history continuing to go from strength to strength globally. The team’s success is down to the quality of the product and also the speedy and efficient service we provide when our customers need us.”