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industry. We suggest you check,
carefully, any exaggerated price benefits to
establish like-for-like costings simply because
there are variations in sheet sizes as well as paper
quality. In fairness these products are used a
loss-leaders to attract your interest.
Toilet rolls are easily pilfered and
misused.
Some surveys have estimated that 40%
are not used for the purpose intended, at work
anyway. Manufacturers have invested in toilet
tissue systems to tackle this and other problems
associated with the traditional toilet roll.
Probably one of the first innovations
was the original Standard Jumbo toilet roll. A
large roll (about 10” diameter) housed inside a
plastic or metal lockable dispenser. Claiming to be
the equivalent to 20 normal toilet rolls (what is a
normal toilet roll?) it soon became established as
a market leader. The original specification for
this product was around 400 metres and 6 to a case.
In order to reduce the unit cost the current
specifications are now around 300m.
Whilst it undoubtedly reduced theft
and misuse and reduced roll changing frequency, it
did not solve another problem – when do you
change it? Will it last the day and if you
change it before it’s fully run out what happens to
the stub? – does it become a wastage statistic.
Some innovative manufacturers have produced a stub
roll or a twin roll dispenser to overcome this
problem. Because of its size in smaller cubicles,
the mini-jumbo system appears to have overtaken the
standard jumbo in popularity. And, just to
complicate matters further all jumbo’s come with
differing core sizes 57 mm or 76 mm, add to this 1
or 3 ply, tissue or recycled paper, you can see how
it becomes so complicated.
In an attempt to overcome some of
these difficulties the ‘Bulk Pack’ system was
created. This product consists of larger than
normal sheets of toilet tissue interleaved in a pack
of 250 sheets. These were then stacked inside a
dispenser that would comfortably hold two packs.
This enabled a top-up feature to be sold. It
is today recognized as a major product in the
washroom. Paper usage is reduced – sounds good –
there’s always a drawback. The cost of the paper on
a sheet for sheet basis is higher.
The latest innovation to reach the
toilet cubicle is the Drop Roll system. This
consists of two large rolls of toilet paper, housed
inside a dispenser. When the first roll is finished
the next drops automatically down. Paper is less
expensive this way and you can top the system up at
anytime. Originally an American system marketed
worldwide very successfully, now however we
Europeans have removed the core to maximize the
sheet count. Currently we stock the LUNA system
where each roll has 850 or 950 sheets and not much
bigger than ordinary domestic well known brand.
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