P&G’s facility in Longbenton, known as Newcastle Technical Centre (NTC), undertakes research and development for products that are used by millions of consumers around the world every day, including household names such as Ariel and Fairy.
A Hub of Innovation
Researchers at the facility have consistently been at the forefront of innovations that have led to improvements in cleaning technology, from ‘automatic’ liquid detergents and dispenser balls, to liquitab detergents which are readily used in homes throughout the world.
P&G has continually set trends for the future, pioneering sustainable developments in laundry technology. Its Ariel Turn to 30 campaign encouraged consumers to save energy by washing at lower temperatures, and now 85% of Ariel users in the UK wash at 30°C. The recently launched Ariel Excel Gel, a breakthrough detergent product in gel form, reduces the environmental impact of washing clothes even further by using less raw materials and packaging, whilst delivering brilliant cleaning at temperatures as low at 15°C.
“I’m pleased to be able to host such an important visit to our facilities today. NTC is our hub of innovation in the North East,” said Charles Bragg, P&G’s Director of Research and Development. “For over 50 years we’ve employed highly talented individuals who create products that improve the lives of people in small but meaningful ways every day. Our knowledge is based on deep consumer understanding and the ability to match what consumers want with what is possible.”
NTC was opened 50 years ago by His Grace The Duke of Northumberland and cost over £500,000 to build and equip. The site has been upgraded many times since then and currently employs around 330 permanent members of staff plus around 100 agency staff. George Osborne MP commented, “I have been very impressed by what I have seen here today. P&G is an important employer in the North East.”
More than Cleaning
PUR water purification technology , which is central to P&G’s ‘Children’s Safe Drinking Water’ Programme, was also developed at NTC. This project aims to supply safe drinking water to communities suffering from natural disasters or those with unsafe water supplies and to date has delivered over 1 billion litres of clean drinking water to those in need around the world. The company recently extended its targets, and has committed to delivering three and a half billion litres of safe water to those in need by 2012.
Charles Bragg added, “P&G is extremely proud of its heritage in the North-East. It has been home to some extremely significant product developments, that simply wouldn’t have been possible without this facility or our employees based here.”
P&G also has two other operations in the region – a manufacturing plant at Seaton Deleval which produces some of the world’s best known fine fragrances, and offices at Cobalt Business Park. In total it employs around 1500 people in the area.
About P&G in the UK and Ireland
Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Ariel®, Always®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Fairy®, Pringles®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Actonel®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun® and Fusion®. The P&G community consists of over 138,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. About 6,200 of those employees work in the UK and Ireland. Please visit our website: www.uk.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.
More information on PUR and the Children’s Safe Drinking Water programme can be found at www.csdw.org
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For further information please contact:
Hayley Cross, P&G Corporate Press Office
Tel: 01932-896090
