Historic manufacturer reports record year as turnover hits £38m
Roberts Mart and Co, the Leeds-based independent manufacturer and supplier of flexible packaging, has announced a record-breaking turnover in its 167-year history.
The family-run firm, which was founded in 1852, has seen turnover rise by £4m to £38m in 2018.
With 200 employees, Roberts Mart and Co is now based in purpose-built headquarters at Aire Valley House, Thornes Farm Way in east Leeds after moving from Bank Mills in 2004.
Following this growth period, the company is investing in two brand new machines, a high-speed slitter and a laminator.
The new £400,000 slitter has multiple automating solutions which will increase flexibility in the production process, while the Super Combi 4000 laminator and coater cost £500,000.
William Roberts, Roberts Mart’s managing director, said: “It has been a very busy year for the company. This significant investment in new equipment is possible because we have a healthy order book – with a good number of new customers coming through the pipeline as well. We are seeing growth across the board, particularly food, where we are seeing much more opportunity in snacks and confectionery.
“Normally you would spread capital expenditure out over a period of time but the amount of new business we are winning dictates that this time it has been made all at once. It has been an excellent last 12 months – and in the light of our new investment in the slitter and the laminator, which will make our production process swifter, sharper and more efficient, the future looks very bright indeed.
“We are indebted to our hard-working staff, whose loyalty and teamwork is exemplary. They are the bedrock of our success.”
Roberts Mart and Co, which was founded by William Roberts in 1852 and is run by the sixth generation of the Robert family, supplies a wide range of shrink wrap, laminated film and printed flexible packaging to clients in the food and drink, home textiles and paper products industries.
