Unilever Leeds, in the north-east of
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
off the A6120
Leeds Outer Ring Road, is a large cosmetics factory and research site of the Anglo-Dutch company
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...
that makes all of its
deodorant
A deodorant is a substance applied to the body to prevent or mask body odor due to bacterial breakdown of perspiration or vaginal secretions, for example in the armpits, groin, or feet. A subclass of deodorants, called antiperspirants, prevents s ...
products for the UK. It is the largest deodorants factory in Europe. The factory supplies the whole of Europe.
History
Unilever is the UK's and the world's largest manufacturer of deodorants. Around 180m Unilever deodorants are sold in the UK each year. Unilever has three times the market share of its closest competitors. In the mid-1990s, the UK was producing 10% of the world's, and 25% of Europe's, aerosol products.
Structure
The site is situated north of the roundabout of the
A64 and A6120. Due to the flammable substances (
LPG and
ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
) stored on site to create the
propellant
A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or other motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicles, the e ...
s, the site is regulated by the
Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015
The Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015 (COMAH) are the enforcing regulations within the United Kingdom of the Seveso III Directive devised in Brussels following the Seveso disaster. They are applicable to any establishment storing ...
. The cosmetics industry across Europe is regulated by
Cosmetics Europe.
Research
The site employs around 50 people to test its products on; people are subjected to temperatures up to 56C. One of the main substances in aerosol anti-perspirants is
aluminium chlorohydrate. There are around 150 scientists on the site.
The site has worked with
DCA Design International Ltd of Warwick, for design of its aerosol cans
Products
It makes
compressed aerosols. It produces close to a billion deodorants a year. It can produce around 3,665 aerosols per minute across 12 packing lines. The site also has 3 roll-on packing lines with a total output of 750 bottles per minute between them.
[''The Times'', 4 March 2006]
See also
*
Economy of Leeds
The economy of Leeds is the most diverse economy of all the UK's main employment centres and has seen the fastest rate of private-sector jobs growth of any UK city and has the highest ratio of public to private sector jobs of all the UK's Core ...
*
Journal of Applied Toxicology
The ''Journal of Applied Toxicology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published since 1981 by John Wiley & Sons. It covers all aspects of toxicology and publishes reviews and research articles on mechanistic, fundamental, and applied ...
*
Procter & Gamble on Tyneside
P&G's offices on Cobalt Business Park
Procter & Gamble (P&G) has a long history on Tyneside, starting from its purchase of Thomas Hedley Co. in 1930. Thomas Hedley was a company local to Newcastle upon Tyne, and was the start of P&Gs expansion ...
, its main competitor
*
The British Aerosol Manufacturers' Association
The British Aerosol Manufacturers' Association (BAMA) is a UK trade association based in Stevenage representing companies involved in the aerosol supply chain, including suppliers of components and ingredients to fillers and marketers.
Histo ...
(BAMA)
*
Unilever Research & Development Port Sunlight Laboratory
The Unilever Research & Development Port Sunlight Laboratory is the multinational consumer goods company Unilever's main research and development facility in the United Kingdom. It is located in Bebington, Merseyside.
History
Unilever's prede ...
on the
Wirral
References
External links
LynxEvery Can Counts
{{Leeds
Aerosol sprays
Buildings and structures in Leeds
Chemical plants of the United Kingdom
Economy of Leeds
Research institutes in West Yorkshire
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...