GlaxoSmithKline works with McLaren F1 on dental production

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has forged an unlikely working alliance with McLaren F1 in an effort to improve its manufacture of dental products.

The company's chief executive Sir Andrew Witty approached McLaren chairman Ron Dennis around two years ago, seeking to learn from the Formula One racing team's ability to make split-second decisions, the Daily Telegraph reports. 

Geoff McGrath, vice-president of McLaren Applied Technologies, said: "It was a meeting of minds, two British companies coming together, thinking about what we could do if we worked together."

In the first instance, the two firms sought to improve the production of toothpaste at GSK's Maidenhead factory, where brands such as Sensodyne, Macleans and Aquafresh are produced.

With customers changing their specifications regularly – some preferring standing tubes, others in favour of smaller bottles – the company found it was spending a lot of time resetting manufacturing lines, reducing its production capacity.

McLaren compared this to a Formula One tyre change and implemented a pit-stop mentality among workers – who now dress in mechanics' overalls.

Since the two firms came together, the changeover time has been halved and GSK hopes the collaboration will continue and expand into new areas.