Visiting Little Greene, a short report

Last week we accepted Little Greene's invitation to England. After a flight via Düsseldorf to Manchester, the first destination was the small color factory at the foot of the Snowdonia National Park in Wales.

Before the trip, I had already asked myself whether the production facility in Wales was as charming as shown in the advertising - a bit like the advertising of a well-known whiskey brand from Scotland: craftsmanship, robust and small.   

Little Greene's small factory can be reached via small, idyllic streets. Once you get there, you quickly realize that time has stood still a bit in Little Greene's small factory, at least that's how it seems at first glance. The bases for all colors are produced and bottled here. The quality is checked regularly in a small laboratory. A total of around 80,000 liters of bases are produced here every week and filled ready for transport. The small team of 16 employees works hand in hand: they are on first name terms, they are joking, and the boss David knows every employee by their first name. That's the way it has to be.

"Little Greene" was the name of a tiny 18th century hamlet in east Manchester. It can be seen on old maps of the area, including the map on the green paint cans. Records from 1773 show that a small company called The Little Greene Dye Works operated on the banks of the Rivers Irk and Irwell. Here, entrepreneur Joshua Rowlands oversaw the supply of pigments and dyes to local mills. The area was central to the rise of the cotton trade during the Industrial Revolution.

Back at the hotel, the evening program awaited us: a fantastic, multi-course dinner and a finale at the bar. We had the opportunity to get to know the team personally. 

The next day also started before getting up with the bus towards Manchester to the Little Greene headquarters. 

The complete contrast program to the production facility awaited us here:

A state-of-the-art, robot-supported pigmentation system, shipping logistics with a high-bay warehouse, the marketing department, as well as a research laboratory and product development relating to color. Exciting!

The conversations with the employees about current product developments and test series were particularly interesting. The company is constantly developing and constantly improving the recipes, researching and testing. The topic of sustainability has a permanent place in the research goals. That is exactly our topic. This high quality standard is easily noticeable in the highly pigmented and very opaque, long-lasting colors.  

By the way, Little Greene is a real family business, run by David Mottershead and his children Ben and Ruth. You can feel this personal touch everywhere in the company. 

Conclusion: We are thrilled! From the product, from the company. And we look forward to further collaboration. And yes: it was the right decision to choose exactly this supplier.