Bright Star Ball

PPS were delighted to attend the 4^th annual Bright Star Ball on Saturday 7^th November in support of the Boparan Charitable Trust. The glamorous event was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London featuring a star studded itinerary. 

Guests were treated to a champagne reception followed by a top class three course meal, all before a line-up of top performers including Jack Carroll, Sam Bailey and Tom Jones. Presenter duties for the evening were courtesy of Jack Whitehall, successful comedian and actor and last seen as the face of ITV’s rugby world cup adverts.

The charity has held a number of fund raising events throughout the year and the ball was no exception. Johnnie Gould, the UK’s number one auctioneer took responsibility for running a successful auction on the night. The lots included a South African Surprise, Golfers Delight, Meet and Greet with Amir Khan and an Equipment Pledge which gave the gift of mobility to those in need.

The team at PPS had a great evening and would like to wish everyone involved in next years charity challenges the best of luck, including our very own Operations Director taking on the Great Wall of China. 

Factory Tour In Pictures- Washing

At PPS washing is not a dirty subject it's what we do best! Both of our equipment wash sites hold BRC accreditation in warehouse and distribution ensuring hygiene is of the highest standard. We take our equipment cleaning seriously which is why we have made substantial investments into modern machinery. 

We are able to offer washing to a variety of industries with the infrastructure we have in place. Take a look at our wash tour below to see for yourself. 

Our main wash line is less than 12 months old and cleaning around 3,000 crates per hour. 

Trays are decanted at the 

dirty end.....

...cleaned through our

 high pressure system...

...and re stacked at the clean end. 

Our other wash line sits proudly alongside the new machine giving us capacity to meet growing customer demand.

Our trio of machines is completed with our pallet wash line. 

Originally installed to clean and maintain our own pool, we now also clean customers own plastic pallets to food industry standards with a high pressure wash and rinse.

For those trickier pieces...we know that returnable equipment comes in all shapes and sizes which is why we built our own industrial wash bay to cater for bespoke and larger packaging. 

The high pressure wash and chemicals work their magic on heavy soiling and label removal. 

Washing to such a high standard means we also need to keep the equipment protected when in storage and transit. Our automated pallet wrap machine is very efficient and also prevents our warehouse staff from getting dizzy!

Once wrapped the stack is then barcoded with traceability labeling. 

We take great pride in our wash service which is why we have committed to our future with the employment of an in house engineer in order to conduct regular services and inspections on the machinery to protect the longevity of our assets.

Have you got dirty crates, trays, boxes, totes, pallets or Dolavs? We'd love to have them in for a wash- call us on 01283 821 502 to organise your trial.

Movers and Storers Show 2014

Having returned from this year’s Movers and Storers show it is clear to see why it is becoming such a huge part of the removals and storage industry. For anyone in the business this was the place to be and an ideal opportunity for PPS Crate Hire to showcase its services.

The event organisers, Amino Events, did a wonderful job of creating a buzz around the show before the doors even opened. The waves through social media certainly ensured that visitors were up to date with all the latest competitions and news while highlighting the range of products and services that would be on offer.

Our stand was in a fantastic location, greeting visitors through to the centre of the exhibitors hall. With our eye catching coloured crates and show boards it wasn’t long until we were discussing our services with many new faces. Never ones to let our visitors leave empty handed we had pick n mix bags in our PPS mugs, and the opportunity to win our PPS Crate Hire Hamper show prize. Congratulation to Lisa Bell from Bell & Sons Removals and Storage on winning this prize.

It was an excellent opportunity to catch up with our existing customers also, and support those entering the show competitions.

We’re already looking forward to next years event! 

Meet the Team- Claire Bourke

Name: Claire Bourke.

When did you join PPS? 1^st September 2014.

What was your first ever job? Waitress.

What is your favourite food? Chocolate hobnobs.

What are your hobbies? Going to the gym and reading.

Meet the Team- Lucy Allsebrook

Name: Lucy Allsebrook

When did you join PPS? May 2013

What is your role at PPS? Sales Administrator

What was your first ever job? First Saturday job was a waitress. First full time job was lettings assistant.

How do you take your tea? No sugar, milk, couple of squeezes of the tea bag.

What is your favourite food? Cake and curry- maybe there’s an experiment in that.

What are your hobbies? I love socialising with friends and family over some good food and wine, running, baking and long walks with the dog. 

Could PPS improve your supply chain sustainability?

PPS are specialists in the world of Returnable Transit Packaging (RTP) and have many years experience in the field.

Our expertise ensures we are able to work closely with you to develop and implement a sustainable supply chain strategy to fit your company requirements, whilst also working towards waste legislation targets.

It is important across all sectors to review the sustainability of your supply chain in order to consider the key issues of economic growth, social impacts and environmental protection.

New developments through RTP is an important drive towards sustainability.

We are continually noticing increases in companies wanting to move away from single trip packaging such as cardboard boxes and polystyrene, to consider their RTP options through bale-arm crates, tote boxes, pallet boxes and other equipment.

The use of RTP will reduce your carbon emissions through lessening the disposal of packaging and transport with maximised design for storage on vehicles.

With the benefits of full service management and tracking systems, PPS are able to deliver an efficient supply chain while maximising your opportunities for sustainability.
 

Meet the Team- Andy Flynn

Name: 

Andy Flynn.

When did you join PPS? 

October 2003.

  

What is your role at PPS? 

Operations & Logistics Director.

  

What was your first ever job? 

Trainee Manager in a Fuel Oil Distribution Company.

  

How do you take your tea? 

In a mug!

  

What is your favourite food? 

Roast Lamb and Chinese.

  

What are your hobbies? 

Sqn Ldr in RAFVR(T) working with Royal Air Force Air Cadets,  Duke Of Edinburgh Award Scheme Manager for Central & East Region & Season Ticket Holder at Leicester Tigers RFU.

PPS Exhibits at Foodex 2014!

PPS are pleased to be exhibiting again at Foodex 2014 between 24th and 26th March at the NEC in Birmingham on stand K349.

This will be the second time that PPS Midlands and East are there to promote the benefits of Returnable Transit Packaging through The Complete Package and additional services including rental, management, washing, purchasing and repairs.

PPS will aim to highlight the environmental and cost saving benefits of RTP.

With two state of the art wash facilities accredited to BRC standards in storage and distribution, PPS are already involved heavily in the food industry through manufacturers, suppliers and end users supporting sectors such as poultry, meat, fish and bakery.

Joanne Moss, Sales and Marketing Director has reported 'We exhibited at the last show in 2012 and found that it provided us with an excellent platform to display our RTP services to the food industry. We are looking forward to meeting new and current customers at this year show.'

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.

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.

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!

Halal Chicken producers favour returnable transit packaging (RTP)

As the Muslim population within the UK rises, the demand for Halal slaughtered chicken is increasing. Cardboard for many years has been used to package whole birds, filleted portions and other cuts to the wholesale meat trade, but the use of Plastic Returnable Transit Packaging is becoming the choice for many leading businesses within the sector.

Recent changes within the supply chain influenced Iqbal Brothers Poultry of Bradford to look at other options to their existing use of a mixture of cardboard and their own self-managed plastic crates.

Having looked at all aspects of using plastic crates, Iqbal Brothers decided that the best option is to work with PPS Midlands and develop a pooling solution using PPS Midlands standard RTP consisting of plastic trays and plastic pallets to service their larger customers predominately sited within the East and West Midlands.

Initially the process would start with 2 customers using approximately 5000 trays and 125 pallets per week, however due to the demand for the high quality chicken produced by Iqbal Brothers, the use of PPS equipment has more than doubled over the first 2 months of the operation.

The required levels of equipment by Iqbal brothers have been seamlessly increased as the market continues to grow, PPS midlands are able to cater for the growing demand.

Acceptance within the market has been excellent, with a number of receiver’s of equipment asking PPS Midlands to contact others suppliers to provide a similar service to them.

How Pooling Works? 

In simple terms, it starts with clean equipment delivered to our customer, they load their product into the RTP supplied, and ship to their customer, informing PPS Midlands via our online tracking service “ENABLE” of the volumes of plastic crates/trays and pallets for each of its customers, once the equipment becomes empty collection is arranged. Our Full Service Pooling solution is simple in terms of operation and costs with all equipment charged at an agreed single fee at the point of despatch.

All equipment that is delivered to the receiving locations is collected by a dedicated 3rd party logistics company that have been working with PPS for many years, ensuring that trays/crates and pallets are returned to PPS midlands to undergo the rigorous washing and condition service that all our equipment goes through, once cleaned the equipment is then ready to start the cycle again.

According to an in depth report completed by WRAP, available from http://www.ppsequipment.co.uk/environmental/wrap-report CO2 savings when compared to cardboard use; see a reduction of over 50% over a 5 year period. Indeed in most cases not only are there environmental benefits, there are financial ones when compared to cardboard boxes.

PPS Midlands are offering the opportunity to have a free, no obligation survey of your supply chain completed, to see if your business would benefit from using  RTP supplied by PPSMidlands, contact Jonathan Issatt on 07896 430047 or email me here