Inside Business First: Protect-UK

01 May 2021 –– Testimonials

Northlight Business Centre tenants, Protect-UK, are a company who supply PPE, and have developed their own Covid safety brand making sanitiser, special Anti-bacterial film and spray paint for surfaces like handles, tables, etc.

Read on to find out more about their business and why they chose to work from the newly developed Northlight Estates business centre.

What’s your business called?

Protect-UK

What do you do?

Our core business is the design, manufacture and supply of door hardware, and metal products.

Once the pandemic hit, panic kicked in that no one wants to touch contact surfaces such as door handles etc and hence Protect-UK was born. This was created to help our customers ensure they can keep a clean, COVID safe environment.

Our main target is B2B, and we are trying to increase our customer base in the North West.

What would you like to promote at the moment?

We would like to promote our new website, www.protect-uk.co.uk which is set up to deliver key PPE items for businesses, including our own TouchProtect product range (sanitiser, film and spray paint).
The website allows businesses to purchase small quantities to meet their requirements, or boxed quantities (with associated discounts).

For Business First tenants we are happy to provide a 10% discount. There is also free delivery available to the Burnley & Northlight business centres.

What makes your business different to competitors?

Whilst there are many people looking to sell PPE, we have focussed on having a tight selection of high-quality products that we know businesses can trust and purchase on a repeat basis. Whilst price has not been our core criteria, we believe that our standard pricing is very competitive.

Plus, we hope the local business element will be a good selling point, and we like to ensure we help our customers out.

How did you hear about Business First?

I live near your Burnley business centre and have been impressed when Bradley showed me around. The only issue was the hot-desking wasn’t the best setup, and that’s where Northlight fits a lot better.

Why did you decide to operate from our offices?

The hot desking at Northlight looks and feels great, and with 24/7 access provides a lot of flexibility.

When did you first move into your office and what size is it?

Hot Desk, 23/03/2021

What benefits do you get from operating from Business First?

In the current environment, it is about having a good quality workspace, some atmosphere and 24/7 access.
Over time I hope to increase our marketing exposure to Business First customers and increase our networking.

Do you make use of the free facilities at Business First?

At the moment, not yet (aside from the Kitchen) but I hope to in the future

How has Business First helped you to run your business successfully?

Probably a bit early to answer this, but the hot desking environment is very good, and the additional seating and pod areas provide privacy when required.

There appears to be a good atmosphere in the building and I hope to increase the networking. Natasha has also been very helpful in answering the queries and making the process relatively easy.

Good quality internet helps.

Would you recommend Business First to other SMEs? If so, why?

Yes, I would for the reasons detailed above. Discussing it with other SMEs who work in other co-working spaces.

What’s next for your business?

At the moment Covid has hit us hard as we have our own manufacturing facility, so the next phase is to get things back on track whilst building the Protect-UK and TouchProtect brands across the UK.

Further to that, we have our new ThermoProtect range of fire rated door hardware coming out in a few months, and we are excited for the launch of our Drake & Hutch range of socks and clothing later this year.

Plenty of stuff going on, so having a good work environment is key, and hopefully, we can utilise the Business First network to the maximum.