Packaging firm delivers £1m relocation and rebrand

Bulk packaging specialist Fenton Packaging has relocated to a 65,000 sq ft site in Leeds and rebranded as Fenton Packaging Solutions.

The company has invested over £1m in the past year to streamline its operations, put a new fleet on the road, and prepare for its next stage of growth.

Managing director Bob Clarke said: “Leeds has a thriving business community and is the perfect location for our business as a third of our clients are currently in the North of England.

“We have effectively put everything under one roof at Kinetic 45 in East Leeds, but we are maintaining our distribution depots in Hemel Hempstead and Bristol to ensure national distribution.

“We tried to move in 2007 but the sale of the old sites in Morley, Leeds fell through during the recession, so we can say this has been a long time in the planning.

“A combination of changes including the expiry of the lease on a southern site dictated a complete relook at our national distribution plan and the Kinetic 45 site was selected from many possible alternatives.”

Finance director Sharon Dakin said: “Fenton Packaging Solutions’ relocation was aided by Leeds City Council’s Enterprise Zone Gateway project and one of the conditions was to create local jobs.

“It’s great that as part of our expansion, we have taken on four more employees, with more appointments to be announced in due course.

“We are currently employing around 50 full time staff members, and we are looking to introduce a graduate programme.”

Explaining the refreshed brand, purchasing and operations director David Wilson added: “Repositioning as Fenton Packaging Solutions better matches our style of operation and future plans, while the new logo and colour scheme reflects our sustainability credentials and goals.

“We are not just a packaging supplier, but a solutions provider for our diverse range of customers.”

The business is also actively pursuing initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint. Its new fleet of 10 trucks meets all Government standards in terms of emissions and electric charging points have been installed at the Leeds premises.

Around half of the company’s product lines are made from highly-recyclable metal, and it is migrating customers to PCR Plastic Containers which is in line with legislation in relation to the Plastic Packaging Tax and contains a minimum of 30% recycled content.