How I Holland is driving global growth through innovation and international trade

Every day, millions of people around the world take tablets, vitamins and supplements as part of their daily routine – often without a second thought about how they were made. Behind many of these products are the precision-engineered tablet tooling and designs created by I Holland, helping manufacturers produce safe, consistent and high-quality medicines that people rely on.

I Holland began life in 1946 from the joining of two companies making tablet tooling – one was a three-man machining company crafting precision-engineered components, the other a specialist in producing dies for printing and embossed labels used on luxury products such as perfume and chocolate.

Now in 2026, many of I Holland’s employees have seen many years of service, including Rob Blanchard, Research, Development & Quality Systems Executive Manager at I Holland. “I started here 22 years ago on a fixed-term contract and never looked back. The company is three times larger than it was back then and we’re continuing to grow.”

Unique manufacturing processes behind pharmaceutical tooling

Most of I Holland’s manufacturing processes are unique to the business, ensuring quality and repeat custom each time. During our visit Rob gave us a glimpse into some of the unique processes at I Holland that give their tools their precision and high quality. Rob explained three key steps.

Cold forming for precision tablet production

1. Cold forming: Starting with the cold forming process, I Holland form the tablet shape into steel through pressing, without the need for heat. This is a process that’s been developed by I Holland over the years and the way the company applies this process is unique to the business.

Heat treatment for durability and performance

1. Heat treatment: The steel must be hardened to ensure the best toughness and strength. A modern tablet press is a harsh environment for tooling, putting them under immense wear and strain. The heat treatment produces a durable and wear resistant product. It also ensures dimensional stability all the way through machining.

Quality assurance through statistical process control

1. Process control: I Holland has statistical process control which is analysed by the internal quality team. Once the inspection is complete, the product is dispatched to the customer. This attention to detail is applied to each process in the factory, with no tool left to chance – everything is measured, reviewed and 100% inspected.

“We’re currently making thousands of components a day, which are shipped to approximately 100 countries,” said Rob.

How AI is supporting digital transformation

Like many manufacturers, I Holland is on a digital transformation journey which is focused on data processing.

“Our statistical process control gathers an enormous amount of data on the capabilities of our shop floor processes. Taking the time to analyse the data can be quite lengthy, but we’ve begun to utilise AI to do it for us.”

Rob Blanchard, Research, Development & Quality Systems Executive Manager, I Holland

Being able to process this data faster allows the business to extract meaningful information.

Exploring wider opportunities for automation

“We’ve also set up small teams within the company that are looking at the wider uses of AI and digital automation technologies to be able to aid the business moving forward,” he added.

---

---

Sustainability in an energy-intensive manufacturing environment

Many mechanical engineering companies are energy intensive and can often find the challenges of sustainability goals and net zero much more difficult.

Using heat recovery to reduce energy consumption

“We have recently had new compressors installed and are now using the heat – a byproduct from the compressors – to run the factory. In turn, we’ve been able to remove all other heating systems from the business,” said Rob. Before this, the heat would have vented out of the building and been wasted.

Investing in solar power generation

Not only that, but the roofs of all four I Holland buildings are now covered in solar panels.

“The aim is to achieve our ambitious sustainability targets while reducing electricity costs as much as possible, helping us keep prices competitive for our customers,” he added.

Building resilience through global trade

Managing supply chain and geopolitical challenges

Geopolitical issues have affected every manufacturer’s supply chain in one way or another, and businesses have had to adapt quickly to the ongoing challenges.

“We have set up a truly global supply chain which helps us mitigate any local geopolitical issues in any one region around the world. This gives us the capability to swap and move our supply chain around from different suppliers globally, rather than just sourcing everything from one place,” Rob explained.

Being an exporter to over 100 countries, I Holland is well-versed in problem solving.

“Our strength is that we don’t have one market that dominates all the others. This allows us to move our focus should one area become difficult,” he said.

An example of this is the current situation in Ukraine. When the conflict first broke out, I Holland pivoted and focused operations on South America.

“This has allowed us to better support our customers in this growing region and provides us with a stronger global platform,” said Rob. Of course, there has been further disruption since, not least the tariff turmoil.

Advice for manufacturers entering export markets

Exporting is a very multifaceted task, so who better to ask for advice in this area that the current holder of The Manufacturer MX Awards International Trade category.

Fundamentally, a business needs to develop strong channels to market to be successful. The fact that I Holland works with many multinational companies, with sites all over the globe, has helped it develop those channels to market.

Developing export expertise in-house

The majority of all products that I Holland ship is through air freight, which comes with its own security protocols; so much so that the company has its own dedicated team to work across this part of the business.

“We have our own export department here and the people within that team are very knowledgeable on the subject; working with tariffs, commodity codes and global shipping regulations.”

Rob Blanchard, Research, Development & Quality Systems Executive Manager, I Holland

For manufacturers starting out, Rob’s advice would be to look at exporting holistically and methodically.

“First ensure you have a market to begin with, then look at all the factors that could impact your ability to export. Take it step-by-step and the rest will follow; growing the business to the point where we now export to over 100 countries has been a slow process and it didn’t all happen over night,” he said.

---

---

Future growth plans for international expansion

Even though I Holland has doubled the size of the business in the last seven years, it certainly has no plans to rest on its laurels.

A strategy is already in place for I Holland to triple in size again over the next decade. The business has recently gone through a buyout process which will aid its ambitious targets.

Going forward, Rob expects growth, and 90%+ of everything the business produces is likely to be exported.

“Overall access to medicines is increasing throughout the globe and with this production of tablets continues to grow in all parts. It’s important that we continue to focus on our exports to these new and emerging markets to continue to grow and support our industry.” he said.

---

Further reading

• International Trade Centre – Export strategy and market development resources
• Make UK – International trade and export support for manufacturers
• Institute for Manufacturing – Global manufacturing competitiveness research

---