Samuel Grant’s Joint Managing Director, Andrew Grant, is embarking on the journey of a lifetime, cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats in memory of his father and our former Managing Director, David Grant.
Andrew will undertake the mission in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society, a charity close to his heart, as the final years of David’s life were ruined by the disease.
The journey starts on the 10th September and they hope to reach their destination on the 18th September.
As with all charitable endeavours undertaken by Samuel Grant staff, the company will match fund Andrew’s donations, which at the time of writing are just under half way to his £10,000 target. With the match funding this will hopefully reach an enormous £20,000, which can make a huge difference to the important work the charity does to create the landscape of dementia.
As the saying goes ‘every little helps’. If you are able to sponsor the mission please do go to Andrew’s Just Giving page at:
Thank you
The Samuel Grant Group, which includes Samuel Grant Packaging, is delighted to announce that Clingfoil has joined the Group.
Based in Stockport and with £7M of annual sales, Clingfoil are one of the North West’s largest independent distributors of protective packaging materials and stretch film product solutions, providing goods to a wide range of customers across distribution, e-commerce, and manufacturing markets.
By bringing Clingfoil’s manufacturing capabilities into the Group, Samuel Grant will be able to combine their expertise with their own, and actively seek out new innovations and products that can deliver improvements and efficiencies for its customers. The acquisition will allow the team to further develop and research 30% recycled machine and hand stretch film for pallet wrapping. In the light of the recent plastic tax being introduced, the ability to research and develop new films in house will add a huge amount of value to Samuel Grant’s stretch film and pallet wrapping proposition.
Clingfoil was established in 1982 by brothers, Mark and Paul Kenyon, and has grown organically over the years, driven by the brothers’ strong focus on partnerships and customer collaboration, evidenced by a significant number of longstanding relationships within its customer base and an excellent reputation across its networks. The brothers have now reached retirement.
There are an overwhelming number of similarities between the two businesses in terms of culture, family values and the support they give their employees, all 21 of whom will continue to work there when the merge happens. They will also retain their office, warehousing and manufacturing facility. Whilst Paul Kenyon has already retired, Mark will stay within the business to facilitate a seamless transition for the company and conduct a detailed handover of operations.
Andrew Grant, Samuel Grant Group’s Joint Managing Director said: “Given the challenges of international supply that we are finding, adding a UK manufacturing arm to our business will help hugely with continuing to provide our customers with the best possible service. It will also allow us to conduct in-depth research into more environmentally friendly alternatives to virgin polymer stretch wrap, and help us to introduce effective stretch-wrapping solutions with increased recycled content to help reduce the impact of the plastic tax.”
Park Place acted as lead advisor to Samuel Grant Group on the transaction. Ben Peacock, Partner at Park Place, commented: “We are delighted to have advised on bringing these two family businesses together. Samuel Grant will be an excellent home for Clingfoil and alongside their new 30,000 square foot distribution centre in Leeds will support the Grant family’s significant growth aspirations for the group.”
Andrew Bradley and Victoria Innes of Knights provided legal advice to Samuel Grant Group. Funding for the acquisition was provided by NatWest. Dave Wilson from Spinnaker Corporate Finance advised Clingfoil, with Mark Heppell, Sara Bluston and Abigail Gallagher from JMW Solicitors acting on their behalf.
Samuel Grant’s Richard Knight and his team are lacing up their trainers to raise essential funds for a revolutionary cancer treatment. Six-year-old Eden was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma in April 2021 and faces a long road ahead.
Richard, whose children attend the same school as Eden, has committed to a 22-mile walk to support Eden’s cause. The money will go towards a revolutionary cancer treatment which improves survival rates and reduces the chances of relapse.
The treatment is currently only available in the USA, and costs more than $210,000 (£155,000). To help Eden’s fight, Samuel Grant Packaging is matching all Richard’s funds raised for Eden – with his current total standing at £5,300.
The Gardens of Eden tour
Area Sales Manager Richard will join five friends from local rugby club Underbank Rangers to walk 22 miles for Eden. The walk will start at Scholes Cricket Club on Saturday 12th February. The gents will join hundreds of others united in their fight to fund Eden’s treatment.
Richard said: “Before she became too poorly, Eden attended the same school as my two boys in Holmfirth. Her story was very close to home, particularly when I consider my sons, Jax and Blake.
“When I sat back and thought about what her parents must be going through, I thought I would join the walk and ask for donations. There’s nothing in the world I wouldn’t do for my children, so I thought it was the least I could do for Eden and her family.”
The circular route will finish at Scholes Cricket Club, and has seen sponsorship support from organisations including KG Bathrooms and Project Sport. Samuel Grant Packaging has a pledge to match all funds raised by employees towards charitable causes, and looks forward to matching the donations to help get Eden to the United States.
Add your donation to Eden’s cause
Six-year-old Eden’s journey has been long and harrowing, but she has always stayed smiling. So far, she has had 14 rounds of chemotherapy, with parents Jen and Lee by her side. If you’d like to support Eden’s Army, you can visit Richard Knight’s JustGiving page here.
The Gardens of Eden tour will commence from Scholes Cricket Club on Saturday 12th February. You can donate here.
As one of the busiest industries in the COVID-19 era, the logistics sector has faced its fair share of challenges. Record highs in e-commerce orders have seen more pressure on the industry than ever, and unfortunately alongside increased demand can come accidents.
So, as responsible businesses, what can we do to improve safety in logistics? From people power to packaging, we can work together to make this figure zero and are proud members of EUMOS, the European Safe Logistics Association. EUMOS are aiming to reduce the number of fatalities in the logistics cycle to Zero by 2050 instilling safer working practices throughout the supply chain and have created standards which are industry recognised.
Invest in training
Moving vehicles accounted for some of the biggest risks in the latest HSE reports. Investing in proper training and refresher courses for forklifts, large goods and heavy goods vehicles will prevent accidents and assure legal compliance.
Use safer equipment
The logistics industry is innovating all the time, from warehouse automation to last mile delivery. While some innovations improve efficiencies, others focus on safety. One such innovation is the Samson Nano Slingshot, which replicates the inertia of a vehicle and whether the load will potentially displace. The machine can initially test at 0.1G and work up to the EUMOS standard of 0.8G. From the pallet data entered, the maximum deformation of the load is calculated to create a pass or fail.. By using the Samson Nano Slingshot, Samuel Grant Packaging can guarantee compliance with the EUMOS:40509 2020 safety standards.
As the only pallet stabilisation technology approved by EUMOS in the UK, the Slingshot captures frame by frame images which highlight any weak points in the load. This detailed analysis helps to improve pallet stability and bring fatalities down to zero. Samuel Grant’s Samson Nano pallet wrapping system ensures pallet stability by using a specialised stretch film, which is pre-set to stretch only to its optimum tension.
Keep all machinery maintained
Another risk as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic is underused equipment. Tools that have been idle are at risk of malfunctioning, so inspections are essential. This is not only a matter of safety, but legal compliance.
According to the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, as well as the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, equipment should be inspected every 12 months. Any machinery that is carrying personnel, such as forklifts, must be inspected every six months.
When clients use the Samson Nano pallet wrapping system, all updates, servicing and maintenance are included in a fixed price per wrapped pallet. This takes the headache out of ensuring pallet wrap machinery is maintained – one less thing to think about!
Make your logistics operations safer with the Slingshot and Samson Nano
The Samson Nano is the proud holder of the 2018 Queen’s Award for Innovation. If you’d like to find out more about how Samuel Grant Packaging’s Nano and testing from the Slingshot can revolutionise your workplace, get in touch today.
Julie has been working at Samuel Grant for seven years. With a combination of motivation and hard work she has progressed through various roles and is now Warehouse Manager. Performing a variety of responsibilities, Julie spends most of her days at Samuel Grant managing goods inwards, loading the lorries each evening and making sure that the orders get out on time.
We asked Julie what her key achievements are so far whilst at Samuel Grant?
“I have worked really hard to get to where I am, from starting as a Warehouse Operative, being promoted to Assistant Manager and now being the Warehouse Manager is a great achievement. This job has allowed me to keep very organised so that I can do the best job that I possibly can.”
Julie’s favourite thing about working at Samuel Grant is the team:
“It’s a great atmosphere to work in and everyone gets on with one another!”
We asked Julie what she saw as the future of the business?
“In regards to the plan and the future of Samuel Grant and packaging as a whole I would hope that we are able to expand or get a bigger warehouse as we are getting busier and busier. I can see a huge difference from when I started to now with a larger amount of staff working here and many more orders being sent out. This industry is going up and up, we are increasing our amount of lorries and we are continuing to get bigger! With Samson Nano machines bringing in a massive amount of business, I definitely see them continuing as the way forward.”
Finally, Julie would tell anyone who is considering a career in packaging to go ahead and do it. It’s a growing industry, there are definitely many opportunities to step up the career ladder if you work hard.
Michael started his journey with Samuel Grant 11 years ago as a Coordinator after working in construction and realising it just wasn’t for him. Through hard work and eagerness to gain knowledge in this new industry his role has since developed to Internal Sales Office Supervisor, which he sees as one of his biggest achievements so far.
Through the support of everyone around him, Michael has progressed massively during his time at Samuel Grant and has attained a great amount of knowledge in an industry he originally knew very little about.
When we asked Michael what his favourite things about working at Samuel Grant are, here is what he had to say:
“I love the diversity of what we get involved with, we work with many industries from heavy industries to home furnishings. It’s great to create different solutions for our customers which keeps me very interested.”
When talking about the future of Samuel Grant and of packaging as a whole, Michael said:
“I can’t wait to carry on being part of a team that continues to innovate. Everyone wants to go greener at the minute with their packaging. This is something we are going to continue to focus on so we can find solutions for our customers and concentrate on taking new environmentally aware products to market. At Samuel Grant we have the experience and resources to achieve this ahead of our competition.”
Lastly, Michael would encourage anyone considering a role in packaging to go for it because of how interesting it can be. It provides a challenge and a variety of things to do day in, day out – “it isn’t repetitive at all!”
Gary Hepworth is Samuel Grant’s Strapping and Tool Advisor. In this role, one of his main responsibilities is to advise others on strapping and with the knowledge he has gained, he does this expertly!
From joining the business in 2010 as a Warehouse Operative he has had various roles and responsibilities. After just 6 months from starting Julia asked him to run a trade counter at Sheffield after recognising he would do a great job. When a full-time position came up in Sales Julia put him forward and gave him a lot of backing and support to progress in this department rather than just the warehouse itself.
Gary shows a vast amount of motivation, and after Samuel Grant were just starting to venture into the steel and strapping business after acquiring Centerpac he asked if he could be Russ’s coordinator so that he could pick up a larger amount of knowledge. This is something that Gary sees as one of his biggest achievements so far.
We asked Gary what his favourite things about working at Samuel Grant are:
“It’s got a great family attitude and everyone can get on with one another. Everyone is willing to help each other whether it’s a big or small task and there is no awkwardness when it comes to speaking to anybody in the company. There is no one that you can’t talk to!”
When it comes to the future of Samuel Grant and how Gary sees himself in the business going forward Gary said:
“I am very happy where I am, there is always going to be more knowledge for me to learn from Russ which I pick up as I go along but I am definitely happy where I am now.
In regards to the future of Samuel Grant and of packaging as a whole, our success of the Samson Nano machines is foremost. From the strapping division I think that we are one of the most competitive out there. We are definitely one of the major players when it comes to strapping, we have the stock, we have the reserves, so we can supply.”
Gary would recommend anyone considering a role in packaging to go for it! Especially for a family company such as Samuel Grant.
Helping customers to improve their processes incorporating all that Samuel Grant Packaging can offer is something Dan, Samson Nano Specialist, does daily. Originally joining the business as an Administrator, where he sorted internal diaries and looked after machine cards, Dan quickly came to grips with the business and was subsequently promoted to his current role.
The technical side of the industry is something which always interested him, as he seeks to prove to customers that the Samson Nano isn’t simply a pallet wrapping machine, but an exciting process which does a lot more than meets the eye.
With a background working for global companies with a constant cycle of new Directors, Dan now feels valued and part of the family at Samuel Grant Packaging. His increased confidence in his own ability has allowed him to go out on the road and confidently advise customers in what they need to do, where they need to be and what we can offer to help.
In his own words:
“Without Julia Allen I wouldn’t be where I am today, she saw something in me which I didn’t. She’s always there at the other end of the phone, more than happy to get stuck in and put her battle gown on to help. I don’t think I’ve ever had an MD that would do that for me.”
With a target set to get as many Samson Nano machines as possible installed in the North East, the only way is up for Daniel, and he has the full support of the Samuel Grant team. In the future, he sees Samuel Grant continuing to grow and maintaining their strong position as market leaders.
We are proud to have Daniel as part of the team and delighted that what started as a right place, right time job became a career he continues to thrive in.
Samuel Grant Packaging has signed a consultancy agreement with Climate Partner to offset the business’ carbon emissions.
In line with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, Climate Partner will now work with Samuel Grant to identify opportunities to reduce their carbon footprint. The consultancy firm works based on two main principles:
– To measure emissions from all business activity, including travel and energy consumption
– To identify opportunities to offset these emissions, for example, investing in afforestation or sustainable development projects in underprivileged countries.
What this means for Samuel Grant Packaging
Under Climate Partner guidance, companies can market themselves as “carbon neutral”, “carbon neutral products” or “carbon neutral packaging”. Each of these follows a strict set of guidelines based on business activity.
For example, to be fully “carbon neutral”, a company must balance all direct emissions, energy consumption and “indirect emissions”, such as business travel. Carbon neutral products are assessed for their emissions from raw materials through to the end-user, while carbon neutral packaging offsets emissions from production, transportation and disposal.
Samuel Grant Packaging will take guidance from Climate Partner on how to offset emissions within its warehouse and distribution facilities.
New initiatives
Samuel Grant Packaging will provide Climate Partner will full access to analytics tools, examining energy consumption and individual products. Climate Partner will use this information to calculate “Product Carbon Footprints” as guided by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard (GHG Protocol).
In tandem, Climate Partner will examine Samuel Grant Packaging’s “Corporate Carbon Footprint” – which covers all emissions arising from company decisions.
How we’re assuring our customers
Working with Climate Partner allows Samuel Grant Packaging to third-party and assurance and certification. This guarantees full transparency around climate protection, as certified by TÜV Austria.
Samuel Grant Packaging is committed to balancing carbon emissions, first and foremost by reducing consumption in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and second, by investing in carbon offsetting projects.
By working with Climate Partner, we are committing to projects such as:
1. Solar power installation projects in Namibia
2. Forest protection schemes in Brazil
3. Clean water campaigns in Uganda.
The move comes as part of a wider initiative for the entire Samuel Grant Group, including a product focus for our Marmax Products brand.
Find out more about Samuel Grant’s environmental policies here.
The future of pallet wrapping is 30% recycled – but not today
News of the Government’s forthcoming Plastic Packaging Tax has attracted criticism and praise in equal measure. While some – including Samuel Grant – see it as a commendable move towards more sustainable practices, it’s important not to overlook the bigger picture.
A good example is Stretchfilm – a wrapping plastic used to stabilise pallets for logistics. Samuel Grant specialises in recommending the most environmentally sustainable wrapping materials for clients, such as Samson Nano film.
This is a high-performance film designed to reduce overall plastic consumption and reduce the carbon footprint.
However this material does not contain the 30% recycled plastic required to avoid the new Plastic Tax and we need to explain why this remains the most environmental and cost effective way to wrap pallets.
High performance stretchfilms are manufactured using only the highest performance extrusion equipment, with the highest grades of virgin polymer. Unfortunately even the purest recycled material available today could not be processed by this machinery without causing damage.
This means that in order to include recycled material into stretchfilm you must use lower performance machinery that can cope with the contamination in the recycled polymer.
The end result is a stretchfilm containing 30% recycled material and 70% virgin polymer that has 50% lower performance than our Samson Nano film.
In other words, in order to use the 30% recycled material to wrap pallets you will not only consume more plastic but you will even consume more virgin plastic.
By using extra virgin polymer and valuable recycled polymer in greater quantities the increased costs are far more than the £200 saved by avoiding the tax.
So with such a negative message about recycled stretchfilm why do Samuel Grant Group strongly support the Plastic Packaging Tax?
1. Firstly the tax and the resultant increase in the value of waste plastic will take waste from landfill and introduce it into the recycling stream.
2. We are adding many plastic based products into our range that do benefit from the inclusion of recycled polymer such as polythene bags, pallet covers, polythene sheeting, recycled strapping and many more.
3. Most importantly, the demand for high grade recycled polymer is creating a whole new industry – the chemical recycling industry.
The majority of plastic recycling is currently done by mechanical recycling in the form of sorting, chopping up, washing, pelletising.
The new chemical recycling industry uses various innovative methods to reduce mixed plastic waste into the precursors for polymerisation – it turns plastic back into an equivalent to Oil.
The BBC have a good article on this here:-
The world’s first ‘infinite’ plastic – BBC Future
A good example of this is the new Recycling Technologies plant in Perth.
Innovate UK invests £1.2 million in chemical recycling technology | Resource Magazine
For now, the optimum environmental choice is to take advantage of high performance virgin films to reduce the amount of plastic used, resulting in minimum CO2 emissions and of course recycling the waste film into other plastic products.
When the plastic chemical recycling industry is working at scale Samuel Grant will be the first to bring 100% recycled high performance films to the market.
In the meantime our advisers are on hand to give the best possible advice to continue to get goods to their destination in perfect condition, using options that focus on performance, the least possible environmental impact, as well as advising on the best way to recycle virgin materials.