Sooty donation collection box

Client: RNIB - Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)

Project type: Manufacturing

Product features

The Sooty collection box is a familiar and important source of fundraising for the RNIB. The boxes have to be durable and convenient, so not too heavy, whilst being strong enough to withstand being dropped containing a large number of coins.

The Challenge

RNIB is the UK's leading sight loss charity, providing support, expert advice and training to help blind and partially sighted people with independent living. There was a shortage of Sooty collection boxes, which needed to be replaced quickly to be ready for a volunteer recruitment drive.

The Process

As time was of the essence, MotionTouch worked quickly with RNIB to develop the initial prototypes. RNIB have been using the Sooty collection boxes for a number of years and so MotionTouch were given the existing designs from which the prototypes were produced.

The prototypes were then put through a vigorous testing stage to ensure that the plastic used in the collection box would remain intact if dropped while containing a large number of coins. By using these 'drop tests', MotionTouch successfully found the right thickness of plastic to ensure that the collection boxes were durable, whilst not becoming too heavy.

Having been thoroughly tested and approved, a tooling of the product was then created and then the collection box was sent to manufacture. In order to meet timescales and the urgent need for the boxes, MotionTouch airlifted an initial batch to fill the gap until the full order was ready.

The Outcome

Since the original order RNIB has placed two further orders for Sooty boxes.

Jim Roberts, Purchasing Assistant for RNIB, says, "Motiontouch's service was excellent, they bent over backwards to help us out when we had a critical shortage of the item. We certainly know where to come when we need more!"

Henry Powell, Sales Director of MotionTouch says "We are proud that we were able to improve and produce the Sooty Boxes so fast for RNIB. It's an outstanding charity and the Sooty Box is a national institution. We look forward to working with Jim and the team again in the future."