The OTL Group toasts 40 years of success

An Aberdeenshire company which exports its world-beating products across the globe is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

The OTL Group’s interests are diverse spanning offshore cleaning, firefighting foams, foam testing and infection control products. Since opening for business in 1984, it has grown to encompass four divisions, over 200 products and almost 30 staff.

Managing Director David Evans explained, “Right from the start, we have always been about four things – great products, being as environmentally sustainable as possible, great people and great customer service.

“In the early days, we worked from small facilities in Torry, Aberdeen, before expanding into our purpose-built facilities at Gourdon. We now have our offices, warehouses, workshops, lab and testing facilities and we’re actively exploring how we can expand the site to facilitate further growth.

“We started out with our Sobo range of rigwash and industrial oil degreasers and then expanded into firefighting foams which are used to suppress fires offshore and in high-risk sites like chemical plants, as well as in the marine and aviation sectors. We’re known for developing highly effective, specialist products.”

The group’s infection control business, Bio Technics, is headed up by David’s daughter Hannah. She commented, “Bio Technics export about two thirds of our products around the world.  We manufacture our patented Endurocide Antimicrobial Plus disposable hospital curtains for use in hospitals as well as a range of alcohol-free hand sanitisers, wipes, and surface cleaners right here in Gourdon.”

David continued, “Many of our staff have been with us for 10 to 20 years, which gives us a powerful advantage, while our more recent recruits bring new perspectives and ideas into the business. We’re constantly renewing and refreshing our approach. You need excellent people to create and sustain a business like ours and we want our team to have a great work/life balance, which is why we offer benefits like flexi-time and our flexi-day system, where staff get a free day off each month in addition to their holiday allowance.

“We’re always learning and evolving as individuals and as a business. We have so many opportunities and so much potential for growth, so even though this is our 40^th year in business, we have the energy, excitement, and enthusiasm you would associate with a start-up.”