Sustainability - A New Chapter.
Join us on our sustainability journey.
If you are interested in knowing more contact our Technical Director James Smyth.
Email - james.smyth@supagard.com or Call - 0141 633 5933.
Thinking of the Future.
How many times have you watched something on the television and thought we need to do something about that, this was the exact thought from Supagard’ s technical Director of twenty-seven years James Smyth. Sitting with his family during the COP26 conference which took place in Glasgow in 2021, Smyth decided to look at radically changing the way they manufacture their customer handover kits.
After witnessing on a television documentary, the number of plastic bottles that are present in our Oceans and the fact that it takes 450 years for one of those bottles to decompose it was time to act and begin to change the course of History.
Working closely with Supagard’s MD David Paterson, both Smyth and Paterson took the leap of faith in finding a solution which they would encourage the entire industry to follow. This challenge started with the simple things as Smyth recalls, “our bottles are made from plastic, in fact we use black plastic bottles which tie nicely to our brand which has always been black with red Supagard logo on top”. So, they researched and discovered that Black plastic is a bad colour as this is very hard to recycle so ends up in a Landfill!
Supagard Sticking to its Pillars of Beliefs.
With Supagard celebrating its 35th Birthday in January 2023, they collectively decided to change their entire bottle range from Black to Silver. Silver was the chosen colour because it is easily recycled and the bottles were enhanced further being manufactured from 40% recycled plastics. Imagine in this day in age a company changing its entire brand image to put the environment first. David Paterson MD expressed to all the board members the importance of Supagard sticking to its pillars of beliefs that they want to do the right thing and produce products that are going to make a positive environmental difference for all future generations.
Sustainability Pledge
Their next challenge added to the list was their customer handover bag, this came in many guises over the last twenty years and with over 5 million produced it was important that they look at this as another important change. From the quality polyester materials that they have used they went back to the drawing board and called meetings to find a material that was entirely made from recycled fabric. Imagine the delight when they discovered that they could manufacture an entire handover bag using thread made from recycled plastic bottles and they had calculated this would have an impact of using over 10 million recycled bottles over the next five years.
Supagard presented their new findings to all OEM & Dealer Group partners and discovered that they too wanted to join in on the ethical journey to a more sustainable planet. Smyth recalls how supportive and accepting their partners were to change the handover kits to match Supagard’s thinking to allow all customers to experience how the thought provoking COP26 in Glasgow could made a difference.
Are all of these products just the same?
How much does it cost and are all these products not just the same? This is a common question that James Smyth Technical Director and Craig Hepworth UK Sales Manager experience when visiting new potential clients. The simple answer to the question would be Yes on the outside but if you ask a car manufacturer is your car not just the same as another brand, they would quite rightly give you hundred reasons why it is different.
Supagard was the first company in the UK to introduce the paint and fabric protection systems back in 1988. Product names like, “Polymer sealant” and “Polysilazane” were unheard of and has taken the last 35 years for those products to be widely accepted as well-known processes to protect the inside and outside of your car.
Smyth stated, “When potential clients ask us are your products just the same as the rest, we can confidentially reply No to this generic question. Instead, our clients are not just buying into a brand they are buying into a company that has spent 35 years ensuring that all their products produced are the best.” Smyth adds, “price can play a part but when it comes to our beliefs, the customer is the most important. This echo’s all the way throughout Supagard and when it comes to customer service, we can proudly hold our hands up as guilty of going that extra mile”.
Join us on the Journey.
When Brian Quinn the founder of Supagard opened the doors of business he always had a simple message and that was to go and make friends in the industry, those friends will trust your judgement and if you can be open and transparent you will have lifelong friends and customers. Paterson adds, “We hope that we can echo Brian’s words and with some of our partner relationships spanning over thirty years it is evident that his message rings true. As a business, we would welcome old friends and new to come on the Supagard sustainable journey for 2024”.
