Norpro - from offshore to inside

Norpro is an engineering company which has established its manufacturing base inside HMP Altcourse. Work which used to be produced India has now been brought back to the UK.

• Norpro MD, David Norburn at HMP Altcourse

Lancashire-based engineer David Norburn has been working in prisons for more than ten years, and has been involved with HMP Altcourse in Liverpool for many of these. In previous years, inmates employed in the prison's metal workshops have been involved in assembling office furniture, such as filing cabinets, from components imported from overseas.

When a contract came to an end, freeing up space in the prison's workshops, Norburn was approached by Altcourse Director John McLaughlin about basing his operations inside the prison - effectively using the workshops as his own factory, where furniture could be manufactured at high quality, high volumes and at low cost.

For Norburn the idea was attractive.

"I am a businessman first and foremost, and for me it had to make commercial sense to have my factory inside the prison," said Norburn.

"However, I could see the potential of using the prison's facilities. I didn't have a factory and this would involve no huge capital investment from me, other than the fees I could pay per unit produced."

In 2011, after only minor alterations to two workshops, Norpro's factory was opened, employing a selected workforce of 25 prisoners - from highly-skilled former metal workers, to unexperienced but enthusiastic first-timers - to produce high quality office furniture.

The results have been spectacular.

In six months of operation the factory has started to produce high-quality furniture in high volumes for a well-known UK company, and at a price which means that work which used to be produced in India, is now being brought back to the UK. 

"The results of working at Altcourse have been excellent," says Norburn.

"The whole response of the people at Altcourse has been first class. The quality that has been produced, the reliability of supply, the understanding of new technology has been second to none."

And it doesn't stop there. In November, the factory is being expanded into the third of Altcourse's workshop, meaning that for the first time, Norpro can establish a complete manufacturing base there, with prisoners dealing with everything from processing orders to dispatching the final product. The factory will be able to provide work for at least an additional 25 prisoners.

All this has been made possible by the flexible approach at HMP Altcourse, as outlined by  director, John McLaughlin:

"We have worked really hard at Altcourse to make sure that our systems and our procedures work to assist productivity within the workshop;  the barriers can be removed.

"I can offer any prospective business partners a real commitment from a workforce who are interested in delivering excellence. They don’t settle for mediocrity, they want to be the best and they will do everything within their power to ensure that any business partnership is a huge success."