Made to last

International trade has always been Sheffield’s strong point thanks to its unbeatable engineering tradition of quality.

The modern idiom “it does exactly what it says on the tin” is a well-worn expression, but few recall that its origins stem from an advertisement used by Sheffield company, Ronseal.

It is a great little saying, and nicely reflects the current export successes of another Sheffield company, Simpkins.
The UK’s original and only travel sweet manufacturer, based in a factory in Hillsborough, has caught the Japanese market by storm, so much so that it is investing in machinery to produce bespoke tins and sweets to suit Japanese tastes.
Simpkins has produced its traditional travel sweets tin for the last 90 years and they have become such an iconic part of British life that they are found in glove compartments everywhere. The sweets were taken by Sir Edmund Hilary on his Everest quest, eaten at high altitude by pilots in World War II and presented to the captain of the maiden transatlantic Concorde flight in the 1970s.
As British as the Royal Family, they are also a ‘must-have’ item the world over, being exported to 40 countries and sold in airports and Harrods.

Read more about this Sheffield success story in the June issue of First for Business.