A passion for paper

18 August 2005



Holweg machine puts G&B Packaging in pole position for printed paper bags


Two generations of paper bag making expertise are embodied in family owned company G&B Packaging. The Kidsgrove, UK, based operation was formed 1987 by Roy Walker, who has been in the industry for 57 years. He named the company for son Garry and wife Barbara - now the managing director and company secretary - while 72-year old Roy is still a very active chairman. In more recent years daughter Juile Walker has joined the company to take over from her mother. They are all passionate in their approach to the whole business of making and selling paper bags.

There are two arms to the G&B operation. The paper bag division is the main business, producing flat, satchel, and film strip window baguette bags - around 3M/week. Equipment used is a new Holweg bag maker with an in-line print capability, as well as other bag machines. The customer base covers bakeries, pharmacies, general retail, as well as the medical industry. It includes names such as Ford, ASDA, Avon, Norwich Union, National Express, and Boots.

The other arm to the business is a flexo print and lamination division, based on a six colour Carint CI press, a Laminastar solventless laminator from Holweg parent company DCM, and a pair of Eldec slitters. This operation supplies printed packaging material to customers in the confectionery, frozen food and fast food industries. Both operations occupy a 16,500ft2 factory on the Kidsgrove site, which has recently acquired BRC accreditation. There are 28 employees working an eight-hour shift, and the annual turnover is £1.8M.

G&B buys its paper from Sweden, France, and the Czech Republic. Film for the lamination work comes from a number of Italian and UK suppliers. Water based inks are used for bag printing, while the flexo lamination operation uses solvent based inks. Ink suppliers are Gibbon (Sun), in the UK, and Luxembourg based Doneck Euroflex, who also provided the company's on-site computer controlled ink mixing system. All prepress work is outsourced.

The company recently invested €360,000 in a new Holweg Model RS 26 bag maker with in-line four colour process flexo printing. Installed in December, 2004, it was the first of its kind in the UK with a full in-line flexo capability. Able to produce 800 bags/min, depending on size and type, the machine handles paper from 25-125g/m2, in reel widths of 150-900mm. Cutting length ranges from 160-760mm, bag length 145-745mm, bag width 70-380mm, and gusset depth 12-80mm. Bottom fold height can be 15-20mm, and standard flap from 13.3-18.3mm.

Garry Walker explains: "We decided to invest now rather than later to become more efficient – to increase productivity and make a better product. We looked at our existing machines – their efficiency going down, repair costs going up, and the safety issues. Therefore we have to invest in new equipment to make more bags per hour in order to compete. We need this new equipment for our niche market business. We always look for niche markets to give us a better return."

In addition to needing far less maintenance, the new Holweg provides very quick change-over and set-up. "Thanks to the machine's cantilever print sleeve system, it's two hours maximum, compared with four to eight hours on our old machines – and it's much quieter, too," he remarks. "The reel handling facilities are all geared to Health and Safety considerations, as well."

He continues: "We have been pushing the machine's print facility since installation. It can print up to 700 bags a minute with no registration problems. Customers expect best quality print to promote their brands and products – which we can now give them. That's given us an edge, a head start. We believe we are the only converter in the UK to print in-line process colour on paper bags. The new machine has put our print quality up a grade."

Roy Walker adds: "The new machine has allowed us to do jobs we couldn't before – adding value to the product; offering customers better all-round quality. We always try to keep one step ahead. You've got to compete in order to survive. We never want to have to say to a customer 'we can't do it'. We are not the cheapest but we are one of the best. We actually supply to other paper bag manufacturers – there's no better compliment than that."

An example of how the new print capability is paying off for G&B is the Nurofen promotional bag produced for Boots. "They were really pleased with the results," confirms Garry Walker. "We can provide much better quality print on point of sale bags, instead of the usual simple single colour print or none at all, such as on a chemist bag. A printed bag is a good marketing tool for brand presentation."

Another winner was a bag printed for a Churchill insurance promotion - the first time the customer had used a process print illustration. All told, the Walkers estimate that the installation of the new Holweg machine will lead to a 15 per cent increase in their company's turnover over the next 12 months.

"Our first priority is to secure our position as a UK manufacturer, then we can expand, he confirms. "We actually won two new customers this year because they wanted a UK manufacturer flexible enough to supply their needs and the quality required. So the new Holweg is working for us already. Installing it was a good move. We are now negotiating for a further two machines," he reveals.

According to Roy Walker, the UK paper bag industry is the busiest it has been for many years. "We are seeing a rising market brought about by the continuing environmental push from the EEC. Plus the bakery industry is very buoyant: sales of bread, sandwiches, croissants and rolls are booming - and the paper bags that go with them.

"It's going to turn around for the paper bag, thanks to the environmental pressures," he predicts. "In Ireland, there is heavy taxation on plastics bags which has increased the demand for paper. Following the Irish move, Scotland could also become paper bag oriented, if the proposed Plastic Bag Environmental Levy Bill becomes law. Italy did it a few years ago.

"The demand for paper bags in the UK will increase. If we don't invest and get in first, this market will offer a big opportunity for overseas bag manufacturers. Because we are investing in new machinery, people realise that we mean business, and are here to stay."

With its special in-line print capability, G&B has a definite edge on the competition. Son Garry affirms: "We are always working to be one step ahead. You can't survive in the UK market by sticking to commodity products. The new machine has given us quality at a high production speed – making us more competitive.

"This is the way we want to go: taking it to another level," he says. We are always keen to do better on a paper bag – to take it a stage further. It's all about giving the customers what they want at the right price; upgrading their products and adding value to them."

While the Holweg machine is leading the company's drive, the other, older machines are still handling its 'bread and butter' business. When Converting Today visited the factory, chicken bags with a film strip window were being produced on one of the company's old machines - an order won from an Italian competitor, as G&B could do it for better price.

At present the bag operation accounts for 60 per cent of the business, but Garry Walker reveals: "We want to grow the lamination side as well. We've recently taken on six former Parkside employees (the one-time Britannia Packaging operation). We are in the first 12 months of our five-year investment plan to improve the bag side first, and then the film operation."



Contacts

G&B Packaging: Tel: +44 (0) 1782 787400 Holweg: Tel: +33 03 88 38 48 95




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“Customers expect best quality print – which we can now ... “Customers expect best quality print – which we can now ...
Father and son Roy and Garry Walker with the Holweg ... Father and son Roy and Garry Walker with the Holweg ...


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