Wilcox Textile Reclaimers
We let the figures speak for themselves: a GPS tracked, specialist fleet of over 80 vehicles collects more than 900 tonnes of unwanted clothing each week from over 3500 collection points across the UK. The company has become a market leader through a dedicated policy of innovation in collection, sorting and distribution. Wilcox is a company you can count on to minimise waste by recycling safely and responsibly. Post-consumer clothing is brought to the four-acre site at Bilston, in the West Midlands, which has a 105,000 square foot, purpose-built, fully-computerised sorting and processing unit. It is ideally located for storage and logistics near Junction 10 of the M6. Over 99% of the material is reused or recycled and more than 90% is exported to over 30 countries around the world.
Company details
Find locations served, office locations
- Business Type:
- Manufacturer
- Industry Type:
- Material Recycling
- Market Focus:
- Globally (various continents)
- Year Founded:
- 1895
Company Background
The Wilcox family have been recycling textiles for over 100 years, the present owners being the forth generation to continue the business.
Over these years the business has endured the problems of two World wars and many cycles of booms and depressions, it has had to adapt quickly to changing circumstances and has established itself as a market leader in this field.
Many factory moves and changes have culminated in the construction of our factory in Bilston, in 2004 we installed a new sorting line, this is the most modern and productive facility in the UK and ensures high volume in conjunction with high quality. Computer controlled and robot operation take out many errors caused in the past by manual handling, this investment has set the standard for the industry.
Environmental Strategy
As a twenty-first century organisation you cannot be involved in recycling without a clear understanding of modern environmental responsibilities – even if your company began life back in the nineteenth century.
Wilcox collection vehicles, for instance, are renewed on a 3-year rolling schedule to ensure the fleet meets the latest Euro 5 low emissions limit. All factory machinery is fitted with soft-start, energy-efficient motors and we’ve installed eco-friendly LED lighting to reduce our energy consumption. To use energy even more efficiently, our onsite transformer house incorporates Power Factor Correction (PFC).
We are is also committed to the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP), reporting collection volumes and resources employed in collection to further SCAP’s ambitions to improve the sustainability of clothing across its lifecycle.
Since our founding over four generations ago, our business has been to promote recycling and our determination to sponsor and support the latest environmental practices in doing so remains undiminished to this day.