Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Thumbs Up Bury has invested over £1m in the installation of a new machine at its factory to produce what the company claims is a unique new type of storage box.
The boxes are manufactured in food-grade clear plastic with a coloured soft grip that is integrally moulded in one process, rather than being the usual clip-on attachment. Very heavy weights can be lifted in the box without the grip digging into the hands or fingers. The machine and robotics were both made to Thumbs Up’s own specifications, as was the soft grip.
Thumbs Up’s ceo John McGuinness told HousewaresLive.net that the new boxes were the result of specific market research to see what consumers wanted in terms of domestic storage, from simple storage boxes through to towers and shelving systems, all of which areas the company is working on.
“Consumers wanted more and more storage boxes,” he said. “The biggest complaint, from not only the ladies but men as well, was that when loaded they did not want hands and fingers marked, and pain from the underside of handles digging into them. Hence this product. You can fill the box with sand or even bottles of wine and the grip doesn’t hurt the hand or fingers.”
He added that the new box was the first of many that the company will be bringing into production in the next 12 months.
