Who are we?
BST Detectable Products was founded in 1985 by former British Bakeries engineer, Brian S Teasdale. The company initially focussed on providing engineering supplies to UK bakeries, before inventing the concept of metal detectable products and the world’s first detectable pen.
Today we supply a wide range of food grade detectable products to all corners of the globe and we’re still expanding. As of July 2017 we employ 24 people, produce around 1.8 million detectable pens per year, stock approximately 400 different detectable products and have a net turnover around £2.2 million GBP.
We’re based directly next to an international airport in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom – which is a perfect location for the distribution of our products and convenient for travelling to and receiving visits from our international partners. 70% of our product range is produced within Great Britain and around 55% of our sales revenue is generated by exports to overseas distribution partners.
What do we do?
We specialise in metal detectable, x-ray visible, shatter resistant and antibacterial food safe products, that are utilised across all food sectors including bakery, confectionery, meat, fish, fruit, vegetable and pre-prepared meals.
Many of our best selling products are of our own design and are produced locally using our own injection moulds / tools. Other detectable products we distribute on behalf of other companies that are specialists in specific areas, such as PPE, safety knives and food grade lubrication. We keep compound and sheet detectable materials in stock, ready to be sent to any of our manufacturing partners for stock production or bespoke projects.
On a daily basis we are manufacturing detectable products, developing new products with our partners, building new business relationships and also trying to educate the world about the benefits of using detectable products and materials within food production environments. We have seven members of staff dedicated to Detectapen® assembly, which is a major part of our operations at our premises in Doncaster.
Why do business with BST?
Our core strength is our unrivalled commitment to high product quality and great customer service. Unlike some companies we work very closely with our international partners to introduce our products to new marketplaces. Many of our overseas distributors have worked with us over decades and some have become very close partners and friends.
Many of our distributors go on to enjoy exclusive rights to the sales of our products in their marketplace after a successful trial period. We attend exhibitions with our distributors, provide marketing and educational resources and we’re always available to help in any way we can.
What makes us different?
Most importantly, we care. As the original developers of detectable products and materials, we do not like to see low quality or dangerous products on the market place. As such we undertake huge research and testing with every new product development to ensure that it is fit for purpose.
We work closely with leading metal detector and x-ray system manufacturers to test our products performance, document the results, advise our clients and also find ways to improve our materials. As a small and family owned company, we pride ourselves on integrity, sustainability and excellence in everything we endeavour to achieve.
What are we trying to achieve in the Gulf States?
We’re looking for partners based in the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to stock, supply and support our range of detectable products. Our partners should be able to support and grow our product sales to existing clients, which include Almarai (KSA), Atyab Bakeries (Oman) and International Royal Bakery (UAE).
More and more food producers are deciding to use detectable products and materials, and more and more standards bodies such as the BRC and IFS, as well as leading food retailers are placing pressure on food producers to use our products to reduce foreign body contamination risks. As global demand for our detectable products grows we want to ensure we have the right partners in place to help us offer a localised, supportive and high quality supply of our products.
Our most popular own brand products shown below are all made using BST XDETECT®. This material is shatter & impact resistant, brightly coloured, food contact approved to American, European and Japanese standards, metal detectable and highly x-ray visible. BST have perfected our XDETECT® material over decades of continuous research and development, we believe it is the world’s safest plastic for use in food production environments.