Read about the Robert Scott rebrand, our history, products, packaging and future plans.

1. A spotless
reputation since
1925

2. James Scott, the son of a
blacksmith, was employed
for over 25 years as a yarn
spinner and weaver.
In 1924, the company’s mill was badly
damaged by fire and the owners
decided to close the business. As a
reward for his hard work and service,
the owners allowed James to salvage
whatever spinning, weaving and sewing
machinery that could be repaired.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Top left: James Scott: 1935
Right: Oak View Mills in Greenfield, Saddleworth, 1974

4. After more than 90 years of serious
cleaning know-how you don't get to
where we are today by simply standing
still. As time has moved forward,
so have our products, solutions and
ways of working.
Crown Warehouse in Rochdale

6. 1925
For the first time,
James started
manufacturing
cleaning cloths for
himself at Acorn
Mill in Lees, near
Oldham.
1963
The business
started to supply
yellow dusters to
T.E.Cohen & Sons
(then a market
trader), more
recently known
as Tesco. We have
supplied them ever
since.
1992
We developed the
first machine for
producing webs
and launched our
Hygiene mop
range.
1960
Robert restarted
the business as
Robert Scott & Sons
Ltd with his sons
James and Peter in
what had been a
small farmhouse
in Lydgate.
1988
While we had
previously supplied
Booker with mops,
dusters and
dishcloths, in 1988
they also ordered a
new, extensive
range of catering
linens, towels and
bed linens from us
meaning we
needed more space.
Heybottom Mill was
purchased to cope
with this growth.
1959
A government
scheme to reduce
overcapacity in the
textile industry was
introduced and the
mill was closed.
1984
Throughout the
next ten years the
current board all
joined the
company, including
the next generation
of family members,
Alastair, Angus and
Daniel, as well as
Frank Murphy and
Mark Smith. Sadly,
Angus passed away
in 2016.
1971
The family business
grew and moved to
the much larger
Oak View Mills in
Greenfield. Today,
this 19th century
Lancashire mill
remains Robert
Scott's HQ.
1930
His only son,
Robert, joined the
firm and gradually
took over the
running of the
business.
1972
We started
manufacturing
floor, oven and
sponge cloths,
along with flat
knitted dishcloths.
Machinery was
bought from Joseph
Walton in Sutton-
in-Ashfield. As they
were closing down,
their works
manager John
Smith moved north
to join the
company. His
contribution to the
business was so
substantial that he
became the first
non-family director.
1964
Using butchers
knives and
hammers we
started making
mops, a far cry from
the automatic
machines we use
today.
Our history

7. 1993
Our 10,000 sq.ft.
6m high bay
warehouse opened
at Heybottom Mill
- the first in
Saddleworth and
our debut
investment into
high bay narrow
aisle racking. It
seems so small
these days!
2000
Harold Watson of
Heywood was
acquired doubling
mop production.
Millers Brook Mill is
locally known as
the Mop Shop, a
name that became
so widely used that
in the 1960’s a
letter simply
addressed to The
Mop Shop, England,
safely arrived at the
offices.
1999
A chance meeting
with Compass at
Interclean led to us
expanding our
product range to
include what has
become our range
of non-woven
wipes.
2010
Acorn Works was
expanded by an
additional 12,000
sq.ft. 8m high bay
racking to further
increase the
storage capacity of
palletised goods.
2011
The last available
part of Heybottom
Mill was expanded,
turning the original
single storey
building into a
two-storey storage
and packing
department.
Continued...1998
Moved Kentucky
and socket mop
production out of
Oak View Mills to a
purpose-built
facility at
Heybottom Mill.
2007
Although Brencliffe
offices were closed,
it didn’t stop the
investment in the
site as a 16,000
sq.ft. extension was
built at Rochley
Works.
1995
Acquired Pioneer
Manufacturing,
introducing
microfibre into the
range.
1994
We invested in our
first AKAB fully
automated sewing
machines to
improve the quality,
consistency and
efficiency of
dishcloth sewing.
2005
The Brencliffe
business in Burnley
was bought
expanding our
retail presence and
adding automotive
products to the
business.
2004
Having reached
warehouse capacity
Broadbent Works
(re-named Acorn
Works for nostalgia)
was purchased,
providing an extra
30,000 sq.ft. of
space.

8. 2013
We’re named
winners in
Tomorrow’s
Cleaning Product
Awards for the Big
White refill mop
and the Stream
microfibre flat mop.
2017
The Stream
microfibre mop and
Looblade products
are finalists in the
Tomorrow's
Cleaning awards.
2015
Fourth generation
family member
Oliver Scott joins
the business.
2018
Mi-cloth finalists in
the Tomorrow’s
Cleaning and
Tomorrow’s Care
awards.
Looblade finalists
in the Tomorrow’s
Cleaning awards.
2015
Universal Towel
Company (UTC)
acquired to add
catering and
laundry linens to
our range.
2018
All brands are
consolidated under
Robert Scott and
the new B2B
ecommerce website
launched.
2014
To support the need
for additional
storage we
acquired a new,
purpose-built
70,000 sq.ft.
warehouse facility,
Crown in Rochdale.
We’re particularly proud
of the fact we now run
some of the last working
cotton mills in Lancashire.
Today, there is much
founder Robert Scott
would have been proud
of. We’re a champion for
the local economy, the
community, industrial
heritage and British
manufacturing.
2012
Contico, based in
Cornwall, was
acquired to further
expand our range
of cleaning
products.

9. Flat knitting machine, 1974

10. Our story
Robert Scott is probably best known for making
mops. Half a million of them every week to create a
staggering 26 million a year. That’s more mops than
any other manufacturer in the UK!
We’re one of the largest designers, manufacturers,
importers and stockists of cleaning products for the
UK's professional janitorial market.
We value quality at the right price, stock when you
need it and, above all, excellent customer service.
We design, manufacture and distribute products
that help make cleaning workplaces easier.
We stock more lines, in greater volume, than any of
our competitors. So, you can always be sure that
when it comes to any aspect of supplying cleaning
equipment, you can rely on Robert Scott to have it
covered.
Our products
We’re proud to offer the largest available range
of products from any UK cleaning manufacturer.
Our huge product portfolio is designed to keep
pace with the very latest cleaning and hygiene
innovations, regulations and rigours of the
professional janitorial sector.
Our wide range includes everything from
microfibre cloths and medical cleaning trolleys
to rapid response cleaning systems and mops.
All manufactured here in Lancashire or sourced
from around the world.
Innovative new products include Looblade, Stream
mops, Ferrzon floor pads, catering textiles, the
Cleano range, Dry-up pads, Mi-Cloth and much
more.
Cloths,
dusting
& wiping
Mops, buckets
& trolleys
Catering
Window
cleaning
Sprays
& pumps
Waste
equipment
Washroom
Floorcare

11. Crown Warehouse in Rochdale

12. What we do
Manufacturing
We produce much of our own range here in the UK.
It’s something we’re passionate about and we're
proud of our ‘made in Britain’ tradition.
Sourcing
If a customer can’t find the right product on our
website, chances are we can quickly source it.
Warehousing
Over half a million square feet of storage means we
hold the stock so our customers don’t have to.
Delivery
We offer a range of options including free delivery
over £200 and next day delivery.
Marketing support
We can help customers with packaging options for
own label ranges to image services to bespoke
catalogues and promotions.
Cleaning consultancy
To understand the challenges end-users face, we
will assess their cleaning tasks, then recommend
the best practices and products to get the job done.
Sales training
With a national, experienced and BICS-trained sales
team we can teach our customers and partners the
most effective way to use and sell cleaning
products.
Our customers
While we sell to over 1,500 businesses across
independent janitorial distributors, wholesale and
retail sectors we’re still selective about who we sell
to. Our customers need to be of a certain size and
we don’t like selling to new companies if they
already buy through our distributors.
When it comes to independents, we count the
IG Group, Alliance Disposables and buying groups
such as Jangro, Nationwide and Caterbar as
valued customers.
Our nationals and wholesale partners include Bunzl,
Bidfood and Brakes along with office supply
businesses such as Lyreco and safety experts Arco.
We also supply cleaning products in the retail
sector to big names such as Tesco, Aldi and Halfords,
where products are often displayed as own-labels.

14. What our customers say about us?
"Market leader. Brilliant. Helpful staff.
Excellent to deal with. Other companies
don’t even come close. As good as it
gets. Excellent product range. Consistent
quality. Delivery time. Don’t go out of
stock as much. Fantastic. Good range. We
have found them to be very professional
in all aspects of business. Goes the extra
mile to help us win business using their
products. A good range, better than your
competitors as far as I am concerned.
The sales office staff are all very friendly
& helpful. Reliable service."

15. Circular knitting machine, 1972

16. Serious cleaning kn

17. since 1925now-how

18. It’s true that not everyone knows who we are or
what we do and many believe we just make mops!
But we’re so much more than that.
Today, we supply over 2,000 hardware cleaning
products. We’re also the name behind brands such
as Abbey, Exel, Contico and UTC. This is confusing
for the industry and doesn't give us the
recognition we deserve. That’s why we’re uniting
all of these under one, single brand.
It’s also an opportunity to demonstrate our depth
of knowledge through our new company tagline:
‘serious cleaning know-how’. In fact, it’s our vision
that one day cleaners will ask for Robert Scott
products by name; and you’ll find at least one of
our products in every cleaning cupboard, in the
universe!
And that's why we're investing in the future of the
business.
Our future
To help us achieve the right balance
of heritage and innovation, we have
revisited our brand. This is to better
reflect our business as it stands now
and to ensure we’re well prepared for
the next 90 years.

19. Our proposition
We’re all about having the cleaning products our
customers need, at a fair price, in stock, and ready
to deliver.
Our super friendly, seriously knowledgeable team
don’t try to sell top-of-the-range products just to
maximise order values. Rare in our industry; they’re
not on commission, and miles more interested in
sustainable relationships and practical solutions
than hitting targets.
Product effectiveness does improve through our
price points as you’d expect. But we focus on truly
understanding customers’ unique janitorial needs
and then recommend the right products for the
job, at the best price possible.
If you need a Ford, we won’t try to sell you a Ferrari!
Our mission
To help make the world’s workplaces easier to
clean - with better and better products that don’t
cost the earth.
Our vision
At least one Robert Scott product in every cleaning
cupboard, in the universe!
Our values
We’re all about quality, efficiency, loyalty,
competitiveness and availability.
Quality underpins everything we do. That’s why
we’re committed to supplying the best possible
quality at every price point, backed up with
remarkable customer service.
We’re continually improving efficiency to make
our customers’ lives easier.
Loyalty means recognising both our long-standing
customers and our amazing team.
Margins are tight and there’s a fine line between
profit and loss, so competitiveness is essential.
Last but not least, we can’t supply what we don’t
have, which is why we strive to make our
availability the best in the business.

20. Our brand personality
Dependable
Approachable
Expert
Practical
When working with customers and demonstrating
our 'serious cleaning know-how', we always strive to
be:

21. Our shiny new logo
We’re very proud of our new logo and hope you like
it too!

22. Our new packaging
You will start to see our new packaging rolled out in
early 2018.

26. Top 10 facts about Robert Scott
(you might not know)
We have four generations of cleaning
know-how stretching back to 1925.
This means production, quality, customer
services and sales have a combined
knowledge of literally centuries so you’re
never left without answers.
We are the UK’s largest mop manufacturer,
delivering ½ million mops each week, but
that’s less than 30% of our business. We
also design, make, import, stock and
supply most of the hardware needed to
clean.
We hold large stocks as we supply around
60% of the UK janitorial market with
2,000 cleaning products worth over £50m
last year.
We’re specified by the NHS, a member of
the Cleaning & Hygiene Supplier
Association (CHSA) and Make it British
community. We adhere to ISO 9001: 2015
and FSC standards. And proud to carry on
the Lancashire textile mill tradition.
Each week we process around 1,000
customer orders, made up of multiple
products lines.
We only sell to resellers. We’re proud of
the fact that we ethically sell and don’t
bypass our customers.
Our cleaning products are used by leading
brands including KFC, Lidl, M&S, the NHS,
Nando’s, Pizza Express, Post Office,
Subway and TGI Fridays.
We employ 230 staff, and pride ourselves
on employee retention and keeping this
expertise within the company with
generations of both staff and the Scott
family having worked for the business.
We have recently invested over £5m in
new warehousing, R&D, manufacturing
and technology, including 450,000 sq.ft.
warehouse facility so we hold the stock
that customers don’t need to.
We’re the name behind many innovations
such as Exel, Hi-absorb, Hi-shine, Mi-cloth
and Stream.
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27. Millers Brook Mill in Heywood

28. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter,
LinkedIn, Instagram and Youtube.
© 2018 Robert Scott & Sons Ltd.
Robert Scott & Sons Ltd
Oak View Mills
Manchester Road
Oldham
OL3 7HG
T: 01457 819400
E: info@robert-scott.co.uk
robert-scott.co.uk