Exhibition Masterclass

On a surprisingly hot summers day in July, 500 eager business attendees gathered at the NEC for this year’s FacetimeUK Exhibition Masterclass. Now in its third year the packed day served up fun, informative and inspirational presentations and speakers, not forgetting some fantastic catering. With sessions including Rob Brown Networking Coach, Rachel Elnaugh ex Dragon and Red Letter Days Founder, and all things tech savvy it was a real opportunity to learn and engage with success stories and suppliers on how to take your exhibiting to the next step. The opportunity to reflect on your previous achievements and how you can implement even small changes to move forwards is priceless and something that should be applied to all aspects of business.

Now how would your business look if you applied this to your day to day operations and took a moment to literally think outside of the cardboard box?  Everyone is so busy and powering on full steam ahead to get the task in hand complete and finish the job in front of them, but if you took a moment to stop, reflect and review your packaging, what would you learn? How could you streamline your supply chain packaging to reduce costs, minimise waste and increase efficiency?

Working with PPS can help you implement all the opportunities you might be missing out on and even get you ahead of your competitors in this market. With our knowledge we can review your current supply chain practise and analyse how to move it forward with ReturnableTransit Packaging. PPS have been managing supply chain packaging for nearly 15 years and will tailor a solution to your business. Whether that be pallet pooling, complete supply chain management, roll cage rental or washing of your own crates, PPS have a solution to fit with your business.

To take the opportunity and speak to the PPS team call 01283 821 502. 

Lucy talks Preston and plastic containers

I’ve made visits to Preston on a number of occasions since the acquisition 

of Alison Handling last year, a delightful trip on the M6 I’m sure many of you will agree! I’m always impressed by the enthusiasm in the office and variety of products available for purchase, the knowledge of the team is priceless but I suppose that’s what you get for being in the industry for 30 years.

People often ask what’s changed since the merger last year, what are Alison Handling now doing differently. What AHS do they do very well and it’s quite niche. They understand their focus, how many warehouses can you go to and select from a huge array of products, the exact piece of equipment to use, with no minimum order and next day delivery? Even if you’re not sure what you should be buying their experience helps selected the best product

for your application.

 You are instantly greeted by rows and rows of trays, crates, pallets, Dolavs, totes, you name it they stock it, and not just in a standard colour that you have to stick with. A lot of equipment is available in multiple colour choices. You may have noticed one addition to the range of equipment and that’s roll cages and metal.  The handling equipment compliments the packaging range already available and has been a popular sale and rental item at PPS for several years.

To speak to the Alison team call 01772 687 940. 

The perfect day for a round of golf.

The belfry Golf Club was the venue to hold this year’s Boparan charity golf day organised by Two Sisters Food Group. Thirteen teams were privileged to play on the fairways of the award winning Brabazon course. 

PPS were thrilled to sponsor the event and provide a team for the golf challenge. Jeremy Tutt Finance Director, with Paul Durrant Operations Manager attended with newly acquired Alison Handling Services Director Ray Hawley and previous Managing Director Tony Deardon. Joanne Moss (Managing Director) and Andy Flynn (Operations Director) joined for the evening celebrations.

The event consisted of a day’s golf at the Belfry, followed by an evening’s entertainment by the legend that is Tony Christie who performed 5 of his hits.

Finance Director Jeremy boasted to be the only person to putt the ball in to 10^th hole.

Managing Director Joanne Moss who attended the evening’s reception said ‘The evening was a well-planned event with great entertainment but most of all raising money for a great cause.’

We thank Two Sisters Food Group for inviting us to the event. We are already looking for next year’s fundraiser. 

Colour Obstacle Rush

PPS Marchington is located minutes away from the town of Uttoxeter which provides ideal transport links to major motorway connections for us to despatch returnable packaging thoughout the UK. Saturday 4^th July saw the idyllic area host an event that is taking the world by storm. The Colour Obstacle Rush was originally founded in Finland in 2014 and has toured Finland, Germany, UK and USA in 2015, pit stopping at Uttoxeter Race Course. Combining a powdered colour run and obstacles sounded like a great afternoon out for the sales team at PPS. 

With our clean white colour rush t-shirts and sunglasses on, all that stood in front of us was a distance of 5k, 10 inflatable obstacles and 9 colour stations. With the sun shining we were soon through the foam pit, over the hurdles and climbing the finishing tower before sliding into one final pool of paint powder.

It was a great to support the local areas activities, and having showered and cleaned out all the paint from our hair we are back in the office for a new week of washing, repairing, renting and selling.

If you are looking to build a greener supply chain, contact the PPS office on 01283 821 502.

Back on the road

After a redesign and makeover our PPS lorries are back on the road. As part of our partnership with local haulier Jeffreys Group, we have rebranded the PPS  trailers. 

                                      

The new sharp image and logo is sure to catch the eye as it shows the supply chain cycle associated with The Complete Package. The simple design speaks for itself as it draws in your attention to exactly what PPS are about, Returnable Packaging Specialists. The back doors are crisp and simple highlighting our contact details and website. 

It was an ideal time to review this project in line with our recent warehouse move and image rebranding.

If you see our trailers out on the roads delivering greener supply chains, be sure to tweet us @PPSMidlands. 

Meet the Team - Helen Adams

Name:
Helen Adams

When did you join PPS?
3rd June 2013

What is your role at PPS?
Operations Assistant – I input the incoming deliveries of dirty equipment onto the Enable system so that we can track what equipment we have had in. As well as what has come into us, I keep an up to date record of what has left us by updating stock sheets. I help to resolve any problems by adjusting equipment stock for customers and looking into statement and discrepancy queries. I also send out the monthly statements to customer so they can keep an up-to date record and so that they can let us know if their records show different to ours. In addition to this, I support Andy Flynn with any other work that he needs me to do.

What was your first ever job?
Waitress

How do you take your tea?
Milk, half a sugar

What is your favourite food?
Mexican What are your hobbies? Running, swimming, cooking/baking, socialising with friends and family

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.’

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

Reusable Pallet Boxes in Demand

Reusable Plastic Pallet Boxes a Winner with the Supply Chain

Increasing Demand for PPS Range of Reusable Plastic Pallet Boxes.

PPS have experienced an increase in demand over the past months for the rental, sale and washing of pallet boxes at both their Midlands and Grimsby facilities.

collapsible pallet boxes

The reusable pallet box is proving to be an increasingly flexible solution for the transportation and storage of goods for a variety applications and industrial sectors. Pallet boxes can be rigid or collapsible and where necessary an insulated double skin pallet box can be supplied where insulation and/or strength are key requirements.

PPS offers for sale both new and used pallet boxes and Dolavs. We also offer pallet box rental solutions for both ad hoc and long term rentals. In addition at both our sites in Grimsby and Measham where we have state of the art pallet box washing facilities for our own pool of plastic pallet boxes we also offer this wash service to customers that require a pallet box washing or a Dolav washing service for their own equipment fleet.

To highlight the versatility of our range of plastic pallet boxes we have detailed below some of the current applications:

•    A fleet of 2,000 collapsible pallet boxes are currently on hire to a supplier to the National Health Service to facilitate an equipment move between hospitals in different locations throughout the UK. The collapsible pallet box proved to be the most cost effective solution due the distances involved and the need to keep transport costs to a minimum.
•    We currently provide our full service reusable pallet box solution (rigid pallet box rental, pallet box washing & transport) to a food processor for the transportation of fish by-products for processing into fish meal prior to forwarding to the Far East.
•    We have been providing a pallet box rental and pallet box washing service to a food processor for a pool of rigid pallet boxes for use within their manufacturing facility that are used for the storage of oils and breadcrumbs within their value added process.

The recycling industry is another sector where PPS is receiving increasing enquiries for the rental and purchase of reusable pallet boxes. DEFRA statistics highlight that the UK generates approximately 300 million tonnes of waste each year. There is an increasing legal requirement being place on both manufacturers and users of products and packaging to ensure that a proportion of the materials is recovered and recycled.

The PPS range of reusable pallet boxes are particularly suited to pallet box loops set up to facilitate the recycling process and are suitable for a range of recovery operations including batteries, glass, paper, food waste, oils and fats.

Our plastic pallet boxes come in a variety of sizes and specifications, are durable and can withstand cleaning temperatures up to 100 degrees C. Our products are available in virgin and recycled food grade approved HDPE in both solid and perforated plastic pallet boxes. PPS can put in place a range of long term and short term packages to meet all customers’ needs including pallet box rental, pallet box washing and transportation if required.