Here at Data Plastics we design, tool and manufacture injection-moulded plastic parts for over 1,500 UK and global customers based out of Witney in Oxfordshire. We have also got one over on the BBC Dragons, as our company is proud to be associated with Tangle Teezer®, a fantastic invention that the BBC’s Dragons saw fit to reject.
Data Plastics are manufacturing the Tangle Teezer®, a brilliant product invented by hair colourist Shaun Pulfrey. Having been turned down on TV, his company is now turning over around £25 million annually, with every Tangle Teezer® being manufactured by Data Plastics.
Shaun first visited us in 2005, having come up with a new idea for a brush to untangle hair. Realising the potential Data Plastics worked with him to develop prototypes and manufacturing costs.
Having spent a few thousand on product development Shaun didn’t have the capital to buy the necessary tooling for manufacturing in quantities, so he seized the opportunity to go on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den programme.
If you watch the clip on the BBC website, you’ll catch his pitch where he deeply offended Deborah Meaden by suggesting her hair colour wasn’t natural. We winced when we watched it! That aside we were surprised that the dragons failed to see the glorious simplicity of his product.
Shaun re-mortgaged his house to get the business started. Fast-forward seven years and the business is now worth around £65 million with new products coming through.
Data Plastics has supported hundreds of inventors in bringing their ideas to life over the last 25 years, from a globe-shaped musical instrument that performs like an electronic synthesizer, to trainer spoons and forks for small children. Not to mention a small array of rather more racy medical items (which had to be removed from display during the visit by local MP, Prime Minister David Cameron in case they caused un-necessary headlines).
Shaun commented to the Prime Minister during his visit; “…the team at Data Plastics have played a significant role in the success of Tangle Teezer®. From helping me design early prototypes and despatch orders to assistance with trialling new materials, they are constantly looking to improve processes and streamline not just their operation but ours as well. I am immensely proud of the fact we manufacture our entire product range here in the UK; it’s at the very heart of our brand”.
Data Plastics is also one of the UK’s biggest manufacturers of mouth guards for full contact sports like rugby, hockey and martial arts.
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