Meet the Team - Paul Durrant

Name: Paul Durrant

When did you join PPS?
Monday 4thJuly 2011

What is your role at PPS?
Operations Manager

What was your first ever job?
General Mechanic Ground Support Equipment in the Royal Air Force

How do you take your tea?
Normally in a cup, but white no sugar

What is your favourite food?
Curry, Spag bol, Steak with peppercorn sauce, any type of kebab, might be why I need to lose weight.

What are your hobbies?
Golf, cycling, DIY(more of a chore than a hobby), watching my son play football

Movember!

PPS Complete Movember Challenge supporting Mens Health Causes

The PPS Mo Bro’s have successfully completed the Movember challenge raising awareness and funds for prostate and testicular cancer and mental health, with the aim to change the face of mens health.

What started off with a very small group from Melbourne, Australia back in 2003 with a team of 30 Mo Bro’s, the independent global charity now sees moustaches sprouting internationally every year during November.

Our Financial Controller Jeremy Tutt led the way to raising £125 so far for this great cause. “The hardest thing about growing a moustache is not to shave it off in the morning when in autopilot mode. Movember is a great cause however I must be honest, I couldn’t wait to shave the moustache off on the 1st December - kisses from the wife and children were reluctantly given during the month! Only 11 more months to go until it's time to do it all again.

Meet the Tweeters!

Meet Kate, Lucy and Jo, the PPS Tweeters

Would you like to know a bit more about the people behind the tweets at PPS?  We might regularly pop up on your twitter feed but you may not know who we are or what we do here at PPS.

Kate, Lucy and Jo have all taken on the role of being the social media voice of PPS. We take our tweeting very seriously here and aim to make everyone aware of the benefits of returnable packaging.  Via our social media platforms we are letting you all know about the service we provide in what is hopefully a fun and informative way.

Introducing our Tweeters:

Kate Williamson – Kate works for and tweets on behalf of PPS East.  She has worked in the Seafood industry for over 6 years and strongly believes in the benefits of reusable fresh fish packaging.  Previously Kate trained as a beach lifeguard but decided against it as a career due to the low temperature of the River Humber! Kate enjoys spending time with her identical twin daughters.

Strange fact – Kate has one of the longest tongues in Britain!

Lucy Allsebrook – Lucy is our PPS Midlands tweeter and is busy promoting the benefits of returnable packaging to the food, retail and automotive industries.  Outside of work Lucy spend most of her time baking delicious cakes which makes her very popular in the office! Lucy also enjoys running, walking her dog and socialising with friends.

Strange fact – Lucy has an odd fear of balloons!

Jo Moss – Jo represents PPS Crate Hire and focuses her attention on hiring crates for office moves and refurbishments.  In her free time Jo loves going to gym, reading and spending time with her two little girls.

Strange fact – Jo likes to see how many plastic crates she can fit in, you’ll see pictures of her sitting in crates regularly on her Twitter feed!

left to right - Kate, Jo and Lucy

Follow @PPSEast @PPSMidlands and @PPSCrates for more information on all our #returnablepackagingservices.

PPS Midlands Supports The Boparan Charitable Trust

PPS Midlands Supports Worthwhile Charity

At the beginning of November David Peggie, Managing Director and Andy Flynn, Operations Director represented PPS Midlands at the The Boparan Charitable Trusts Monsters Ball.

The ball took place at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London with over 1,000 people in attendance. The Jacksons provided the entertainment alongside a very exciting charity auction. All proceeds raised went to the The Boparan Charitable Trust which was set up with the sole purpose of helping as many children and young people as possible across the nation who are disadvantaged either by poverty, disability or terminal illness.

David Peggie from PPS Midlands reported “We were delighted to be invited to contribute and support such a meaningful and worthwhile charity.”

David Peggie and Andy Flynn representing PPS Midlands

Snoozebox Experience

Snoozebox was the ideal location for the PPS Crate Hire team to stay for the the Movers and Storers conference

A conference at Silverstone is not complete without a nights stay in the Snoozebox, a unique concept using refurbished shipping containers providing a compact hotel experience. Set within the grounds of the track it’s sure to provide you with the racing buzz.

With each room providing you with free wifi, air conditioning/ heating, an en-suite wet room, personal safe, double bed, towels and complimentary toiletries, it was the ideal location for the PPS Crate Hire team to stay for the the Movers and Storers conference.

The onsite Boozebox made for a fantastic nights entertainment with great food, drink and music, an ideal way to socialise at an event. A simple combination of recycling and reusing lies well with the returnable transit packaging ethos here at PPS

Meet the Team - Jeremy Tutt

Name:
Jeremy Tutt

When did you join PPS?
April 2013

What is your role at PPS?
Financial Controller

What was your first ever job?
Trainee Accountant with IMI Bailey Birkett Ltd (a subsidiary of IMI Plc) on their graduate development programme.

How do you take your tea?
Hot, white and one sugar.

What is your favourite food?
Roast lamb with all the trimmings.

What are your hobbies?
Most of my spare time is taken up by my 6 year old daughter and 3 year old son.  I enjoy food, both eating out and cooking at home.  I am a keen supporter of Burton Albian FC and I have also recently taken up playing golf (badly).

For more information on returnable packaging contact Joanne Moss or visit our website

Plastic Pallet Boxes may be the answer to transporting large loads

Are you looking to transport large loads with a robust and affordable solution? Then the PPS plastic pallet boxes maybe your answer. 

Large Plastic Pallet Box - PPS

Are you looking to transport large loads with a robust and affordable solution?

Then the PPS plastic pallet boxes maybe your answer. Designed as a large container for bulk handling, the PPS plastic pallet box is ideal for transporting and storing your goods with secure stacking and easy loading with a forklift.

Manufactured from high density polyethylene material with smooth inner and outer walls, it makes for easy cleaning for any industry whether that be retail, food, waste management or automotive.

PPS Midlands Limited has recently seen an increase in demand for the sale of plastic pallet boxes in the recycling industry. It provides a flexible solutions with the capability to hold batteries, paper, oil, glass and food waste.

Government statistics show that approximately 290 million tonne of waste generated each year in the UK, we all need to take responsibility for our environment and think about the reusable packaging options that are a more cost efficient solution to wood and cardboard. What about the internal packaging you might wonder, well with the pallet box being a resilient and durable option, your internal packaging can be somewhat reduced.

PPS are on hand to discuss your plastic pallet box requirements and help with building your fleet.

For the love of cake

Here at PPS there is a definite love for cake, and even more so for our Sales Administrator Lucy Allsebrook.

At PPS Lucy is based within the sales team providing customers with a variety of returnable transit packaging options and assisting you with any queries regarding sales, crate rentals, washing and repairs, on hand to advise you the best equipment solutions.

Having made all the delicious cakes for our Macmillan coffee morning helping to raise over £150, Lucy also spends evenings and weekends preparing bespoke cupcakes, celebration cakes and wedding cakes.

As a registered home baker all cakes are designed to order for events such as birthdays, christenings and Christmas.

The PPS pool trays are an ideal alternative to cardboard for transporting the cakes.

Is Tray Washing a dirty subject?

Tray Washing at PPS

At PPS it’s not – it’s what we do every day!

We wash thousands of supermarket style bale arm trays 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

We do this because our customers don’t want the hassle of washing their own trays, that’s our problem and a problem solved for our customers, leaving them to get on with their core business.

We take tray washing seriously and we have exacting hygiene and quality systems.

These systems have enabled us to be certificated to BRC standard, which is recognised widely across the food supply chain.

So, if you have a tray washing problem don’t delay – contact PPS and let it be our problem.

Crate Hire from PPS

Renting crates for your office move or refurbishment couldn’t be simpler with PPS Crate Hire.  Our experienced customer service team will help you throughout the process from advising you on how many crates to hire to arranging collections to fit in with your business needs.

Here are some steps to follow when arranging crate hire:

1.    Which Crates? – PPS offers a large range of crates to our customers conducting office moves and refurbishments.  We provide computer crates which are specifically designed to hold a computer and all the related equipment such as keyboards.  We have metre long crates which are ideal for moving books and the contents of filing cabinets.  We also have standard crates which are designed as one crate per person for all their desk top belongings.

2.    How Many Crates? – The general rule is one standard crate per person and one computer crate per PC.  It is also important to consider the contents of filing cabinets and folders when calculating how many crates you need.  Our customer service team will be happy to advise you on crate quantities and extra crates can always be hired if required.

3.    Do you need any packaging? – Will you want labels to identify the contents of each crate, bubble wrap to protect the contents?  Security seals are available to lock crates to protect high value goods or sensitive files. 

4.    How are you going to transport the crates? – When the crates are full they can be heavy.  Skates or sack barrows can be hired for safer and easier handling.

5.    How long do you need them for? – You will have a plan of how long your move will take and it is a good idea to hire the crates for a few extra days either side of the move to allow staff to pack and unpack their crates.  Don’t worry if your move takes a bit longer than expected rental periods can always be extended.

It can seem daunting having to make all these decisions which is why our customer service team is always available to discuss your individual move.  We understand that all moves are different so we tailor our service to suit you. 

Once you have ordered your crates all have to do is sit back and wait for them to arrive. 

Meet the team - Andy Moss

Andy Moss - PPS Plant Manager

Andy Moss - PPS Plant Manager

Name:
Andy Moss

When did you join PPS?
September 2007

What is your role at PPS?
Plant Manager. I am responsible for all the washing and equipment movements on site, that involves arranging the transport for our collections/delivery’s. I also plan all of the PPS Removals delivery’s and collections.

What was your first ever job?
I did the usual paper rounds and washing up in a pub kitchen but my first job where I was properly employed was at McDonalds.

How do you take your tea?
This depends what mood I’m in and who is making it. If I make it I will usually have it strong and milky, if somebody else is making it I tend to have a couple of sugars to mask the flavour.

What is your favourite food?
I think the most appropriate answer is Junk Food. However if pushed I don’t think I could survive much longer than a week without Bacon.

What are your hobbies?
Mountain Biking and Skiing. I like being outside and in the mountains, unfortunately we don’t have many of them in the Midlands.

For more information about Returnable Transit Packaging contact Joanne Moss or visit our Website

Improve Your Office Environment

How to improve your office environment

Most of us spend at least eight hours a day five days a week in our offices.  Spending all this time at work means the environment is very important. 

At PPS we know that happy workers are more productive so we have come up with some tips to improve your office environment.

1.    Seating Plan – Make sure that employees who work together are sat together to make them more productive.  For example department manages should be sat in easy reach of their employees

2.    Image – Your office represents your company to any visitors therefore you want it to create the right impression.  A tidy and organised workspace is important.

3.    Storage – Ensure that all staff has enough storage such as draws and filing cabinets to put all their paperwork away.  Not only does this encourage tidy desks it also improves efficiency

4.    Noise – Noise levels can be a real problem in busy offices particularly when staff have to spend a lot of time on the phone.  Installing partitions can make a big difference in preventing noise impacting on other people.

5.    Lighting – The availability of natural light in office can make a big difference to employee productivity.  Try and make the most of all the natural light that you can get and make sure areas without natural light are well lit.

6.    Heating – The temperature at work is a big factor in creating a comfortable working environment.

These are just some tips to create a comfortable and productive working environment.

Meet the Team - Kate Williamson

Kate Williamson - PPS MIDLANDS LTD

Kate Williamson - PPS East

Name:
Kate Williamson

When did you join PPS?
February 2011

What is your role at PPS?
Business Development at PPS East

What was your first ever job?
Saturday girl at The Body Shop!

How do you take your tea?
White, 1 sugar and preferably in a PPS mug!

What is your favourite food?
Hmmm… tough, but suppose I should say Fish!!

What are your hobbies?
Fishing (not really)... Most of my spare time is spent having lots of fun with my twin daughters.

Follow our blog to keep up to date with news about the returnable packaging  industry and to meet further members of the PPS Midlands Ltd team.

A New Face at PPS East

Following Peter Davey’s retirement from PPS East, we are pleased to announce that Lisa Stephenson has joined the company in July as Accounts Administrator.

“I am delighted to be a new addition to the team at PPS” said Lisa, who went on to say “I have previously worked in the fish industry for several years so I am quite used to the lovely smell of fish!” Lisa will look after the administration of the business supporting Kate Williamson (Business Development) and Paul Durrant (Operations). Outside of work, Lisa’s husband and two children keep her busy most of the time however she likes reading and going to the local theatre and cinema.

Jeremy Tutt (Financial Controller) said ”I am really pleased Lisa has joined PPS. Following Peter’s retirement, it was important to recruit someone who would fit in with the team and continue to support PPS East Limited as we continue to grow and develop.”

PPS East Limited (formerly TFA Box Company) was established in Grimsby over 25 years ago to service the local fishing industry. BRC accreditation in Storage and Distribution means the company also attracts major blue chip clients.

They operate out of their wash facility in Omega Business Park. This allows local fish and food production businesses to hire plastic returnable containers and pallets and also have them hygienically washed. Due to increased interest from fish merchants, suppliers and processors looking to purchase various reusable containers, PPS East Limited has recently started selling directly to customers plastic boxes and trays, pans, defrosting crates and pallets.

Meet The Team

DAVID PEGGIE - PPS MIDLANDS LTD

Name:
David Peggie

When did you join PPS?
As one of the original founders of PPS I started work on the concept in the late 1990s.  The actual company was formed in 2001 with our first contract commencing in 2002 – this customer is still a customer today

What is your role at PPS?Managing Director

What was your first ever job?
I started life as a chartered surveyor but soon realised that I was more interested in a business career.  To help in my change of career I did an MBA at Cranfield School of Management which was invaluable in my move from a profession to a business role.

How do you take your tea?
With milk and no sugar during the week and with a scone and raspberry jam at the weekends

What is your favourite food?
French and Italian

What are your hobbies?
Skiing (while the knees still function), walking, travel, theatre and reading

Follow our blog to keep up to date with news about the returnable packaging  industry and to meet further members of the PPS Midlands Ltd team.

All Change at PPS Returnable Packaging Specialists

We are experiencing exciting times at PPS with continued growth in all areas of our business.  In the last two weeks we have welcomed two new members to our growing team. 

Lucy Allsebrook has recently joined our sales department.  Our sales team provides customers with a large variety of returnable equipment including plastic pallets, crate hire, pallet boxes, trays and roll cages on a purchase basis.  They are on hand to advise customers on the best equipment for their business.  Lucy will also be involved as part of the sales team in the organisation of short term equipment rentals and ad hoc washes.

Our operations department has also expanded with Helen Adams joining the team as operations assistant.  She will be largely working on our full service customer accounts and using our online asset tracking system, Enable.  The management of equipment is of upmost importance when using returnable equipment and the Enable system prevents losses.  

Joanne Moss at PPS said ‘We are really excited to be welcoming Lucy and Helen to our growing team.  The use of returnable packaging has increased rapidly in the last few years with many users seeing the benefits of cost savings and a lower carbon foot print.  At PPS our customers have been pleased with the variety and quality of service that we provide.

We have been meeting the needs of our customers who already use RTP or wish to start by offering a selection of services including hygienic equipment washing, rental, pooling, management, sales and equipment repairs.   I am sure that Lucy and Helen will be valuable additions to our team as we continue to grow.’

Why use PPS Crate Hire

At PPS Crate Hire we know moving is stressful but we are here to help providing our customers with an efficient and reliable crate hire service.

There are loads of reasons to use PPS Crate Hire so we have listed just a few keys one’s for you:

1.    Product range – We have a large range of rental crates to meet your needs.  To complement the standard removal crates we also provide flat screen computer crates, server crates and metre long crates.  Packaging and handling equipment is also available.

2.    Flexible Service – We are here to meet your requirements.  We can deliver crates at short notice straight to your door.  Rental periods can be extended an extra crates hired if required.  Whatever you need just call our customer service team who will be pleased to help.

3.    Expert Advice – If you are unsure about how many crates you need just call our customer service team.  They will be happy to advise you on your individual requirements.  We can also recommend local removal firms if needed.

4.    Good Value – Our crate rental prices are very competitive.  The economical rental costs make perfect sense when planning a move.

5.    Great Service – From the moment you contact us with an enquiry right to end of your move and beyond you can be guaranteed of great service from everyone at PPS.  We pride ourselves in our service orientated approach.

Those are just 5 reasons to use PPS Crate Hire, hire crates from us and I’m sure you will find many more!

Automotive RTP boxes, crates and washing services

The automotive industry in the UK has taken a beating over the last 2 decades, losing out to cheaper foreign production and labour rates, however with investment increasing in UK manufacturing and a higher than expected new vehicle registrations in March are we seeing a turn round for vehicle sales and manufacturing in the UK.

Emerging markets in China and India are seeing a large demand for British Marquees, like Bentley, Jaguar, Range Rover and Rolls Royce.

With an increase in production volume, comes an increase in the reliance on parts supply and the use of packaging materials.

Playing your part within this complex supply chain means you have to think carefully about generating waste for your customer, that’s where PPS Midlands can help.

As a business, PPS midlands has been involved with RTP (Returnable Transit Packaging) for over ten years, providing bespoke RTP solutions to all forms of industry including Food, Meat, Automotive and Electronics industries.

Our standard range of products are in regular use within the food industry, along with bespoke tailored solutions for both the automotive and electronics industries, catering for specialist needs such as ESD (Electro Static Discharge)

Specialist plastic crates, boxes and larger collapsible pallet boxes can all be controlled and managed from site to site by using our simple on-line tracking software “ENABLE”, which has be designed by PPS from the ground up to offer a simple and effective way of managing RTP.

PPS Midlands is seeing a steady growth with component manufacturers looking to take a greater responsibility for packaging waste and environmental issues created by using disposable packaging materials. Many manufacturers are still reliant on the use of cardboard to supply their customers and this in turn has an impact on the receiver of the components.

Attention to details can make the change to RTP simple, e.g. when approached by a manufacturer of component parts of electrical motors we discussed the ratio of one component to another to establish the best configuration for shipping, this ratio was 12:1. Then taking into account the weight of each of the components calculating the maximum permissible lifting weight under the health and safety guidelines for manual handling laid down by the supplier, we set about looking for the right sized RTP. As with most solutions it is best to keep it simple, understanding the weight limits, and the parts ratios, we are able to provide a solution that not only satisfies the requirements for the supplier it also reduces the costs associated with packaging, simply one box caters for both elements.

With so many suppliers manufacturing parts and components to the automotive industry, the use of disposable packaging materials needs to be reduced to aid the green credentials and reduce the CO2 attributed to production of finished vehicles.

The key question is; what is your business doing about it?

If your need is large or small, if you need a complete start to finish solution or just need help to manage or wash your existing RTP, contact Jonathan at PPS Midlands on 01530 515333 or 07896 430047 or email Jonathan here

PPS Midlands “RETURNABLE TRANSIT PACKAGING SOLUTIONS” an alternative to packaging waste