Category Archives: Products

Plastics companies rely heavily on EU workers

Plastics companies rely heavily on EU workers, says BPF survey. The plastics industry is highly reliant on EU workers and Brexit has pushed firms to automate some roles, according to a survey by the British Plastics Federation.

Plastics companies rely heavily on EU workers

The UK plastics industry is the third largest manufacturing sector in terms of employment, employing 166,000 people, of which, roughly 18,000 are non-UK EU citizens and 4,000 come from the rest of the world. EU workers account for roughly 11% of the entire workforce in the industry and one in five of all factory floor workers.

The survey showed that more than half of UK plastics companies rely on employing temporary workers during busy periods — and here EU citizens play a very prominent role, making up 48% of temporary workers. A quarter of the companies surveyed stated that they would like any new immigration policy to help them meet short-term, temporary needs.

Before the referendum, roughly half of UK plastics companies were having trouble recruiting. January’s BPF Business Conditions Survey showed that this has increased, with just under two-thirds of plastics companies now reporting difficulty filling key roles. The more recent survey, specifically about EU workers, shows that 10% of companies feel they are having trouble filling vacancies as a direct result of the EU referendum whereas 58% do not feel the result has affected their overall workforce.

The survey shows that factory floor staff and engineers are the toughest roles to fill and in order to plug the potential gap left by EU workers, 61% of companies say they may employ UK workers, 39% may train existing staff, while almost a third (29%) are also looking into the possibility of automating the roles.

Commenting on the findings, chairman of the BPF Brexit Taskforce, Mike Boswell, said: “Our industry has for some time experienced difficulty in finding the right staff for key roles and unfortunately Brexit appears to have made this situation worse. This survey has underlined the importance of EU workers in our industry.

“If companies that rely on temporary workers to fulfil their orders lose access to almost half of the temporary workforce, this will pose an enormous challenge. It is important that at this point companies are exploring all feasible alternatives, including investment in upskilling the existing workforce as well as the development and implementation of technology to automate roles, for which we will require further assistance from the UK government.”

The role of EU workers in the plastics industry survey was carried out in 2017 and was completed by almost 90 companies. To access the full survey, as well as a summary of the findings, visit: http://www.bpf.co.uk/eu/home.aspx

Guide to common carton styles

Guide to common carton styles. The range of carton styles is vast allowing you to have a carton produced that is fit for any purpose. We have given examples of the most common here…

We can help you design custom paper and cardboard boxes that best meet your needs. Please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly and experienced in-house packaging team to discuss your specific needs.

Guide to common carton styles

Guide to common carton styles

 

 

Tesco drops 5p carrier bags in trial

Tesco has launched a ten-week trial to find out how customers manage without the 5p carrier bag option.

Tesco drops 5p carrier bags in trial

The store’s customers will instead have the option of buying a reusable bag if needed.

The move could potentially lead to a phasing out of the ‘single use’ bags across the country.

A Tesco spokesperson told. “We are carrying out a short trial in a few stores to look at the impact on bag usage if we remove single-use carrier bags. In these stores, customers who need a bag can still buy a Bag for Life which they can reuse.”

The supermarket said it implements many different trials each year “to see how we can improve our business and serve customers better.”

Tesco’s online customers will still have the option of 5p bags for deliveries, but increasingly people are choosing to go without.

“Our Dotcom delivery service will continue to use single use carrier bags but customers can, of course, choose a ‘bagless’ delivery option.”

Tesco’s Bags of Help scheme will continue and customers can vote in store to choose which local groups they wish to support in store by collecting a blue token.

In October 2015 England became the UK’s last country to start charging for plastic bags.

Shrinkflation hits big brands due to the falling pound

Shrinkflation hits big brands due to the falling pound, shrinking pack sizes in a bid to fight off passing price rises to consumers.

Shrinkflation hits big brands due to the falling poundAccording to reports in The Grocer, Doritos, Peparami and Coc Pops have all reduced the size of packs at a time when costs are rising due to the falling pound.

The move has been dubbed ‘shrinkflation’ with a sharing bag of Doritos reduced from 200g to 180g, although the price remains £1.99. Peperami snacks have also come down from 25g to 22.5g. A large box of Coco Pops has been reduced from 800g to 720g.

However, Kellogg’s – the owner for Coco Pops – said that the reduction in sugar was responsible for the drop in pack weight.

Doritos owner PepsiCo said that fluctuating foreign exchange rates are hitting the cost of materials, while Peperami said that it has also been subject to rising commodity costs.

Packaging Guidelines Launched by INCPEN and FDF

Packaging guidelines launched by INCPEN and FDF. INCPEN has linked up with (FDF) to publish a set of guidelines to optimise the use of packaging in the supply chain.

Packaging guidelines launched by INCPEN and FDF

Titled ‘Packaging for people, planet and profit – sustainability checklist’, the publication has a forward from Defra minister Thérèse Coffey.

The checklist is designed to help companies choose and optimise their packaging systems with the aim of improving sustainability through the supply chain.

Jane Bickerstaffe, director of INCPEN, said: “The checklist will help companies improve packaging for food and drink and other products, make it more consumer-friendly and make supply chains more resource-efficient. Supply chain companies are more aware of and responsive to, environmental concerns than many businesses. This checklist will help them demonstrate that responsiveness to the public.”

Helen Munday, director of food safety, science and sustainability and chief scientific officer, Food and Drink Federation, added: “This guidance will help businesses choose and optimise their use of packaging in ways that will contribute to a net improvement in the use of resources across the value chain. This improvement can be achieved whilst continuing to ensure that food safety and quality requirements are not compromised. We encourage all food and drink operators to use it.”

The checklist is also part of the FDF’s Ambition 2025 strategy, which aims to minimise the impact of used packaging associated with food and drink products. It also aims to encourage innovation in packaging technology and design.