Established in 1858, Cottam Brush has grown to become one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of brushes for trade and industry. 

In addition, we also stock a range of catalogue and technical brushes designed for both end user and distribution. Innovation is at the heart of who we are, so we’re interviewing our Head of Product and E-Commerce, Nick Palfreyman, about our latest technical brush range: Forklift Truck brushes.

Where did the idea of the Forklift Truck Brushes derive from?

The idea of Forklift Truck brushes was suggested during a leadership meeting, as we were talking about products we should have as a brush maker. We knew our competitors offered similar products, and quickly established we didn’t just want a me-too (like-for-like) product. We were able to use this project to utilise our in-house design and brush making skills within the business and challenge the norm by designing a range of brushes that would disrupt the established marketplace. 

Did you come across any challenges during your initial research?

The initial market research phase showed us that there was a lot of competition out there, not just from competitor brush makers but also specialists in fork attachments. The biggest challenge for us was to create a product that differed from existing offerings and connected with the potential users to establish a unique Cottam product that we could take to market. Identifying and uniting the task in which large-scale brushes were used led us down the path of a range of task-focused brushes. 

How does the Cottam FLTB differ from others on the market?

Right from the start of the process we visualised a range of brushes that were purposely designed for a specific task. We started with the warehouse model (which we later named the ‘Warehouse Wizz’) as we have a large warehouse here at Cottam which provided a great testing ground for our design, research, and development. 

Through the use of social media we soon had a wider interest in the product development, and the ‘Yard Master’ was born in collaboration with two local aggregate companies.

Whilst this development was flourishing, the pain point of ‘cost’ and ‘commitment to spend’ rose in several conversations. As a result of this, the ‘Basic Broom’ soon made its way into the range as a value offering, allowing companies to integrate the use of a forklift brush into their cleaning regime at low risk. They also have the option to upgrade to one of our other premium brushes when ready. 

Each of our brushes is packed with innovative features from brush fill patterns that retain debris in front of the brush to replaceable brush stocks. Our range is unique and expanding, with additional task-focused brushes in the pipeline. Expanding the range further we have the ‘Farmyard Guru’ and the ‘Recycling Specialist’.

Why is the Cottam FLTB worth investing in?

Sweeping and clearing up large areas such as warehouses and yards is necessary for obvious reasons, but using traditional brushes and brooms is labour-intensive and inefficient. Making use of existing automotive fork machinery and effectively turning it into a massive sweeping machine is much more efficient saving time and money rendering the outlay for a forklift brush insignificant. In fact, companies who have bought our brushes have been so impressed they have returned to buy additional product to have several brush locations around their premises.    

Can you tell us a little bit more about other products that are currently in development?

Yes, where do I start?! As we look to grow the business, we are very busy with new product development. We have a range of new duct brushes going into production soon, we have new weir brush systems in trial phase, and we have several projects ongoing with the local universities. The others, while we don’t want to say too much at the moment, keep an eye out for future announcements! 

More information on the forklift brush range can be found on our dedicated webpages: [LINK]

Alternatively, you can call or email us to speak to our friendly sales team about your requirements.

Email: sales@cottambrush.com Call: 0191 428 2510

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