Britain’s biggest manufacturer of vitamins, based in South Derbyshire, has won a prestigious award for its management through the difficult times of the COVID pandemic, and its support of the local community.
IVC Brunel Healthcare, which employs 550 staff and produces vitamins and supplements at its 30,000 square metre state-of-the-art base in Swadlincote, was crowned Manufacturer of the Year at the East Staffordshire and South Derbyshire Business Awards on November 10.
Holders of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, the company is the biggest producer of vitamins and supplements in the UK, working on behalf of top UK retailers, and exporting to global international brands.
The team from IVC Brunel Healthcare at the East Staffordshire and South Derbyshire business awards, showing (left to right): Caroline Brackenbury, head of sales and marketing; Rob Haytack, commercial director; Stacey Springthorpe, head of HR; Chris Tilson, head of operations, and James Amery, chief financial officer.
It produces four and a half billion tablets a year, including traditional herbal remedies such as echinacea and milk thistle and more than 250 different vitamin formulations.
The company also made a significant contribution to the health of Swadlincote when the first COVID lockdown was announced in the UK in March 2020.
At the same time as the company saw demand for its health supplements increase by up to a whopping 400 per cent, as millions of people turned to its products to try and boost their immune system, it pulled out the stops to ensure that its workers and their families stayed safe and well.
This included supplying them each with a digital thermometer, putting in strict social distancing and staggered changing room systems, while it also stepped in to provide substantial support to the local food bank, which had seen contributions of food drop off.
It also made sure that staff at the local University Hospitals of Burton and Derby NHS Foundation Trust were able to continue to fight the pandemic on the front line by supplying all 2,500 staff with vitamin tablets as a thank you.
IVC Brunel also sponsors six local sports teams, including Gresley Rovers, Moira United and Burton Rugby Football Club.
Chief executive officer John Hackett said: “I’m delighted and proud that IVC Brunel Healthcare has won this manufacturing award. The challenges of keeping going during Covid were enormous. Our staff were classified as key workers, which meant that we were open throughout, and around 300 members of our manufacturing and quality teams stayed on site.
“There was, as we had foreseen, huge demand for our products because everyone in the UK wanted to stay as healthy as they could. We saw an increase in demand of up to 400 per cent, at the same time as the safety measures meant our productivity was reduced.
“We’re proud to say that most of our workforce lives in the local area and while we try to be the very best employer we can, with people living in our area facing real problems due to the economic situation brought about by COVID, we felt it was only right to provide a substantial donation to keep the local food bank going too.”
IVC Brunel Healthcare’s work throughout COVID is the latest chapter in a long history which stems back to 1865, when it was based in Burton.
The company moved to Swadlincote in 1969 and established its factory base on former coal mining land in William Nadin Way in 1996. Today it has four sites in the area and employs people working in wide-ranging roles including engineers, lab technicians, quality control staff plus warehouse operatives.
With many health tablets containing anything up to 37 different ingredients, the company does the vast majority of its work in-house including development, testing, producing and packing.
Operations director Mat Woodings said: “It goes without saying that we are extremely proud of all our employees for rising to the challenge of Covid and keeping the nation well supplied with health supplements during such a challenging time.
“For our part, we try to be the best employer we can be. We like to look after not only our staff but the local community too.”
IVC Brunel Healthcare was crowned Manufacturer of the Year at a gala celebration evening held at the Pirelli Stadium in Burton-upon-Trent.
