Toughsheet the new Bolton Wanderers Stadium sponsors

Wanderers fans, and football fans across the country, will soon be much more familiar with the name Toughsheet, with the club’s announcement that the Westhoughton-based family company have won the race to become the new stadium sponsor.

Having been in operation for over 50 years, Toughsheet takes plastic waste, breaks it down, and transforms it into membranes which are laid underneath concrete on building projects to form a protective barrier to prevent any moisture from the earth below seeping in.

Broken down plastic pellets ready to be transformed into Toughsheet's products (Image: Newsquest)

Having been in operation since 1968, the company has seen rapid growth in the last decade and has grown to be the biggest firm of its type in Europe.

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And it is the only company in the UK which performs the full operation from start to finish on one site.

Toughsheet currently employs around 70 staff at its site at the Chequerbent Works, with the view to expanding in the near future to accommodate up to approximately 90, says group buyer Alan Blundell.

Alan has seen Toughsheet’s rise to the forefront of its sector first-hand having worked at the company for over 40 years.

Alan Blundell (Image: Newsquest)

He said: “I started here with no educational standards but now I’m quite well regarded in the industry.

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“We have our own training programme, and we tend to promote from within. We have long term employees.”

The news that Wanderers’ home will now be call the TS Community Stadium has created some excitement among the ranks.

“Usually when we have to direct people here we say it’s the junction after the Reebok Stadium, now we can say it’s past the Toughsheet,” Alan said.

Machinery creating Toughsheet's membranes (Image: Newsquest)

One member of staff who is particularly thrilled with the announcement is Sarah Lyon, a lifelong Wanderers fan who has been working at the company for the past five years.

“It made my day. It’s exciting,” she said.

“People might never have heard of us before unless they drive past, but it really puts us on the map.

“I think it’s the perfect choice with everything that the owners are trying to do with making community at the heart of the club. And I think the fans will like the name.”

Shredded plastic ready to be repurposed (Image: Newsquest)

Alan added: “It’s a nice legacy for the company and the owners. Dougi is a decent bloke to work for and I’d like to think he gets that back, that we give him that back.”

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Owner Doug Mercer has a history of donating to and championing good causes throughout the borough, including Toughsheet sponsoring an award the Build Back Bolton Business Awards 2022.