Quality Assurance
Hillbrush products are renowned across the globe for the highest standards of performance and reliability. We believe in providing the very best quality and service to our customers and aim to deliver a comprehensive service from enquiry to delivery.
We strive to understand the needs of our customers and to exceed their expectations at every opportunity. Through constant communication, listening to comments and suggestions and managing change, we continue to evolve and adapt to suit demand.
The Hillbrush Senior Management Team is committed to quality leadership and will provide:
- Organisation and support to satisfy the needs of customers and suppliers
- Equipment and facilities to ensure the smooth running of all systems and processes
- Training and education to all employees to support and enhance their performance.
Hillbrush is very much a team and is successful as a result of a co-ordinated effort to work together using defined requirements and procedures. Consistency throughout all phases of work, across all departments helps to ensure customer satisfaction before and after a sale.
Operating an open style of management where issues and concerns can be raised early means corrective/preventive action can be taken. We encourage all staff to promote an ethos of excellence across the business from administration to production and work together to produce high quality with minimal errors, specifically:
- To work to the company’s quality policy and associated documents
- To highlight areas for improvement to meet the customer’s requirements.
The quality policy and corresponding manual outlines the requirements and procedures to be followed by all Hillbrush personnel to maintain the expectations of the customer, issued with my authority and commitment.
Philip Coward
Chairman
Environmental Policy
Hillbrush is committed to a policy sympathetic to protecting and preserving our environment, minimising environmental impact at all stages of production, and in the way we package our products.
- Hillbrush has been audited and found to meet the requirements of standard(s) FSC-STD-40-004 (Version 3.0) EN and FSC-STD-50-001 (Version 2.0) EN for FSC® Chain of Custody Certification.
- All the vegetable fibres used in our brushes are sourced from developing countries, which supports local communities and furthers our commitment to corporate social responsibility.
- Hillbrush has an FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®) Chain of Custody certification (TT-COC-001562) for wooden brush backs and other wooden products. This means that the FSC® raw material used to produce these wooden parts can be traced back to an FSC® certified forest. The non-FSC® timber used by the company comes from managed forests or from suppliers with other sustainable timber schemes (such as the German PEFC™ scheme).
- We encourage our customers where possible to change from buying brushes with fitted handles to threaded handles. Packaging is much smaller, reducing transport costs and carbon emissions.
- Hillbrush strives to use a minimal amount of packaging materials and complies with all EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) packaging waste regulations. The weight of packaging per product is available on request.
- All plastic products manufactured by Hillbrush comply with EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) recycling regulations.
- Energy and water consumption are a prime concern and air from our main extraction system is recycled back into the production building to reduce the loss of heat. We have also installed automatic taps to further control our water consumption.
- All packaging received is recycled.
- The Company has recently updated its moulding machinery with energy efficient machines using considerably less power.
- In 2017, Hillbrush constructed a brand new manufacturing and office building. Efficient LED lighting has been installed across the site, operated via sensors and timers to reduce energy wastage. Wall and roof insulation is compliant with the latest energy efficiency standards. We have installed two electric car charging points for environmentally friendly vehicles.
- We have installed a 250kw PV solar generating system at our new facility in Mere, Wiltshire.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
We recognise that socially conscious consumers and employees are taking an ever-keen interest in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the companies they either patronise or are employed by.
The Hill Brush Company Ltd (Hillbrush) takes this responsibility seriously and our Board Committee meets regularly under the leadership of Charles Coward (Commercial Director), to discuss topics surrounding CSR. Set out below are just some of the ways in which we demonstrate our diligence in this area:
We are committed to protecting and preserving the environment, both in respect to the products we produce as well as their manufacturing and packaging. The vegetable fibres we use are sourced from small communities in developing countries and our wooden brush backs are made using either FSC® certified material or timber from managed forests with sustainability schemes, such as the German PEFC™.
All of the plastic products we manufacture comply with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recycling regulations and we endeavour to keep the amount of packaging used for our products to a minimum, encouraging customers to purchase items that require less packaging, wherever possible. This in turn reduces transport costs and carbon emissions.
In order to minimise our consumption of energy and water, air from our main extraction system is recycled and filtered back into the production building to reduce heat loss. The lighting used in the main warehouse and across our contemporary building is ultra-efficient and environmentally harmonious components are used throughout the production process.
The Company makes regular donations to local and national charities, be it in the form of money, time or prizes. Among these are the Wiltshire Air Ambulance, the Mere Carnival, North Dorset Rugby Football Club, Mere Football Club, Mere Cricket Club, South Wilts Pony Club, Mere Cancer Research and Cancer Research UK. Keen to give back to the local community, the Company also sponsors a local LTA accredited Tennis Coach (GSMTA), as we endeavour to encourage and inspire the athletes of the future! The Company also takes price in supporting fundraising activities undertaken internally by staff.
In respect to our employees, we operate under the basic premise that it is important to behave in a socially and ethically exemplary way. We are responsible for the people who take part in the production and support of our products and services worldwide. As such, we strive to create a pleasant environment at all times in which staff are treated fairly and with respect. We care about the health and well-being of everyone in our team and have provided an on-site gym with the latest equipment, plus a staff Hub serving fresh, healthy meals daily at a fraction of the market price.
All of our staff are given the opportunity to gain relevant and formal qualifications alongside their employment in, for example, numeracy, literacy, IT, business and management skills. Training is carried out onsite during working hours in conjunction with Yeovil College, Somerset. Apprentice Programs are also offered in various departments. Many of our staff have benefitted from this training and have gone on to hold more responsible positions within the Company.
Modern Slavery Act Statement:
This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Hillbrush does not support or condone slavery or human trafficking and takes it’s responsibly to be alert to the risks within our business and in the wider supply chain that we are engaged with extremely seriously. Hillbrush staff are expected to report concerns and management are expected to act upon them.
As our supply chain extends globally, Hillbrush is aware that there may be areas where the risk of slavery and human trafficking requires assessment and management. Every care is taken to identify and mitigate key vulnerabilities by working closely with carefully selected suppliers. Our Organisational Structure We are a manufacturer of brushes and hygiene products and are predominately UK based with a satellite office in Baltimore, USA. Hillbrush has an annual turnover below the £36 million mark and therefore is not required by law at this stage to hold a formal Modern Slavery Act Policy however it is our intention to review this in the future. This statement is reviewed annually and updated accordingly.
Organisations We Support
