Injection moulded bath manufacturer to quit Taiwan in favour of Merseyside

Injection moulded bath manufacturer to quit Taiwan in favour of Merseyside

The British-based manufacturer of 'the first-ever injection moulded bath' is planning to bring manufacture back from Taiwan and set up a plant on Merseyside in a Ј2·5 - 3 million investment. Rhinobath started trading in earnest in 2000. Its main business is with the contract bath market - baths installed by councils, housing associations and sold in DIY outlets - which gives it the volume for a single product that makes injection moulding a viable option over thermoforming. In turn, injection moulding the bath in ABS enables it to make a 7 mm thick (instead of 4 mm) product which is strong, but still light in weight, and has advantages in terms of stacking/storage space for builders merchants, and damage resistance in transit and installation.

At present the baths are moulded by a contract moulder in southern Taiwan, using tooling also made in Taiwan. But the costs/logistics of importing from the Far East, together with what the company sees as limited input in product development in Taiwan, has brought about the decision to switch production to the UK. Manufacture is heavily automated, so the benefits of low Taiwanese labour costs have little effect. ABS supplies, however, are likely to be imported from the Far East because the material is cheaper there.

Rhinobath expects to start UK production in about a year from now and is currently discussing machine purchase with several major manufacturers of big machines. The baths are currently moulded on a 4,000 tonne press, but Rhinobath expects to be able to use a smaller machine, particularly with the next generation which will go into production a few months after the UK start-up. This will be two-component bath with a high gloss skin and a partly-foamed core containing reclaim, wood flour, chalk, and other fillers - the development of which Rhinobath found to be less easy in Taiwan. Research is continuing into suitable material combinations. The company is also looking to source the new tooling for its baths in the UK.

At present Rhinobath sells in the UK and Ireland, but with a capacity at the new plant of 150,000 units a year, the company is also planning to distribute in Europe.