A SCOTTISH company is celebrating a growth in sales by making a voluntary commitment to pay the living wage.
Borders-based cleaning and detergent manufacturer RP Adam Ltd (Arpal Group) has become the latest Scottish company to become accredited as a Scottish Living Wage employer.
The firm employs more than 80 people across the UK and its Selkirk-based manufacturing plant has recently benefited from a £400,000 investment to increase capacity by 40 per cent, in line with increased business growth.
Living wage accreditation recognises employers for paying their staff a fair wage – which is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually based on the cost of living in the UK.
Established by the Poverty Alliance in partnership with the Living Wage Foundation, the living wage is paid on a purely voluntary basis, and is higher than the national minimum wage.
“RP Adam is justifiably proud to be a living wage employer and by making this voluntary commitment we recognise our role in the local community as a caring employer as well as the importance of maintaining a motivated and committed workforce,” said managing director Robin Leith.
“It also makes a powerful statement that by treating and rewarding our employees fairly, everyone in the company and wider community will benefit.”
He added: “It is especially pleasing that we have made this commitment during our anniversary year, celebrating 125 years of operation here in the Scottish Borders. Following on from our investment in the manufacturing plant, this is yet another very public commitment to being an important part of our local community, both as an employer and as a wealth-creator for the local area.”
A fourth-generation family-owned company, RP Adam services customers across the UK as well as operating a successful subsidiary across the Middle East.
The recent expansion at its Selkirk plant is a major part of the company’s five-year investment and growth programme, launched to mark the anniversary, which sets out a £20 million turnover target to be reached by 2020.
The recent £400,000 investment included an overhaul of its UK headquarters.
Central to the investment programme is a major expansion and reconfiguration of the factory and warehouse facilities, resulting in a 40 per cent increase in storage capacity at the Selkirk site, in line with increased business growth.
The company has also invested almost £250,000 in plant and equipment, including new filling lines for smaller pack sizes, and a state-of-the art warehouse racking system.
A new gas boiler system costing more than £160,000 has allowed RP Adam to convert its heating from oil to gas, bringing improved environmental and cost savings benefits such as a 29 per cent reduction in the factory’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The two-year investment project was launched as the company’s UK production volumes increase to match year-on-year sales growth.
The 2014/15 financial year saw the manufacturing volume at Selkirk rise by 11 per cent, and this year volumes are set to increase by a further 13 per cent.
Since it was launched in April 2014, more than 500 organisations in Scotland have signed up to the scheme to become accredited as official living wage employers, giving their workers at least £8.25 per hour.
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