bpi.films – The Interview

bpi.films is the UK’s leading manufacturer of high quality pallet stretch film, shrink films and speciality converter films, and  a key member of British Polythene Industries plc (BPI), Europe’s largest  producer of polythene film products. bpi.films’ diverse product portfolio  covers cast and blown pallet stretch films, plain and printed shrink films,  converter and lamination films.

bpi.films continues to invest in the  most advanced film manufacturing technologies, a strategy which has given rise  to its two latest products – Wrapsmartultra, a 7 micron pre-stretched  hand stretch wrap which, due to its thinner gauge, means less film by weight  is required to wrap a given load, which means that ultimately there is less  packaging to dispose of, and Zeroll, a coreless hand-applied stretch wrap.

As demand grows for these and the company’s other innovative products, bpi.films has recently expanded its main factory at Leominster and taken on more staff. It’s a great British success story all round, as Alex Begley, bpi.films’ Sales Director for the UK and Ireland, told Warehouse & Logistics News.

Warehouse & Logistics News – When was BPI plc set up, and who owns it now?
The company has its origins in textiles and its roots can be traced back to 1797. The polythene business grew by acquisition throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s, including the purchase of Visqueen from ICI.

Listed on the London Stock Exchange and with its Group head office in Greenock, Scotland, the structure of the business has continued to evolve to remain at the forefront of the  industry.

WLN – How big is bpi.films in turnover and staff numbers? What proportion of BPI group turnover does bpi.films contribute? What share of UK shrink film, converter film and pallet stretch film sales do you have?
BPI is Europe’s largest producer of polythene film, selling more than 300,000 tonnes per annum and with an annual turnover in excess of £400m. bpi.films is the Group’s largest single division, producing over 100,000 tonnes of film per annum.

Turnover figures for our business can be somewhat misleading, because they are heavily influenced by the price of our raw materials, which can be extremely volatile. We are a major player in all our market sectors, ranking among the top three suppliers for each of pallet stretch wrap, shrink film and converter film.

WLN – What other businesses are in the BPI group?
The other core businesses are bpi.industrial, bpi.recycled products, bpi.europe, bpi.consumer and AT Films in Canada. bpi.industrial concentrates on films for construction and heavy industries, and bpi.recycled products is the largest recycler of  polythene film in Europe. Using recycled product, it manufactures Plaswood, an award-winning alternative to traditional materials, which can be turned into fence posts and benches. More details can be found on our website www.whyusewood.com.

bpi.recycled acts as BPI’s recycling arm, and serves several  bpi.films customers. bpi.consumer specialises in the manufacture of polythene  bags, and printed films, for the packaging of fresh and frozen foods, mail  order goods, household and consumer durables. bpi.europe manufactures a range  of plain and printed products for the agricultural, food and industrial markets in Europe. AT Films is based in Canada and their main markets are agriculture and horticulture. We’re focused on centres of excellence, with specific sites doing what they’re best at. Research and development is concentrated on particular parts of the business.

WLN – When did you  (Alex) take on your present role? As Sales Director, how closely involved are you with individual customers?
I joined BPI as Northern Sales Manager in 1992 and after periods as a National Account Manager and Sales Manager took on my present role in 1998. I maintain close links to our customers and handle several large accounts personally.

WLN – As a company, how are you organised to service their film requirements?
We have locally based sales account managers around the UK. All are very experienced in Pallet Stretch Wrapping and they work extremely closely with large end users and distributors. We also have a dedicated telesales operations looking after smaller customers and in addition have a technical back up team.

WLN – Do you also offer a service for collection and disposal of used film?
bpi.recycled products takes care of collection and disposal, currently  recycling 80,000 tonnes of used film per year and gathering pace with recent  legislation, particularly in the farming sector.

WLN – Where is bpi.films’ UK HQ? How many operating locations do you have in the UK and Ireland? Do you export film from here? Do you manufacture film products overseas?
We have manufacturing operations in Brampton, Bridgwater, Bromborough, Leominster, Sevenoaks and Widnes; development teams in Leominster and Bridgwater; and a sales office in Ireland. We export various films from the UK, including pallet stretch wrap, and sell them throughout Europe, Scandinavia, Japan and Australasia. bpi.films currently manufactures all of its products in the UK. BPI recently purchased AT Films to enable us to manufacture and distribute film in Canada and North America.

WLN – Do polythene films vary in quality?
Yes, they do. We are recognised by the blue chip companies as leaders in film quality for performance, reliability and consistency, providing end-of-line products to wrap goods and get them into the distribution chain. Our films are understated as products, but their impact is huge. If our customers’ goods don’t arrive properly wrapped at their final destination, they can be refused entry. The supermarkets set very high standards and use automated warehouses, where flapping polythene can stop the chain: film has to work first time, every  time.

WLN – In the present economic conditions, are customers prepared to pay extra for quality?
They’re prepared to pay for value. We use premium raw materials to give customers the benefit of the best technology available. Buyers are recognising that by investing in  ‘ingredients’ that may at first glance cost more, the costs are more than offset by demonstrable savings on the amount of polythene used. We offer a full audit service, which involves informing customers what it costs in money terms to wrap a pallet both with our film and others if necessary.

Quoting costs per tonne for pallet wrapping can be misleading; cheaper film can have an inferior yield in terms of pallets wrapped, and our audit service is  available to potential and actual customers, advising on film usage and how to  get better yields.

WLN – Can you talk us through the products in your portfolio that are relevant to warehousing and logistics operations?
We have two product categories, machine film and hand film. Our bestselling machine film is Supreme RM, a 17-micron thick film which is manufactured using a superior performance polymer. Supreme RM is a tried and tested choice, which comes into its own with today’s sophisticated stretch wrap equipment. It stretches to 250%, is certified to work with the latest equipment and is used by large end users, distribution centres, logistics companies and supermarkets.

We also offer a range of hand wrap films manufactured in various thicknesses to cover every wrapping requirement. Out latest film is Wrapsmartultra, a pre-stretched 7-micron film applied by hand to wrap pallets. It gives remarkable consistency, and is being adopted by the supermarkets for use in distribution centres and warehouses to wrap a multitude of mixed pallets.

Wrapsmartultra is half the thickness of standard stretch wrap, is easy to apply and fully recyclable.  Because you use less, there’s less film to dispose of: it reduces the number of film deliveries and hence cuts C02 emissions.

Another new product is Zeroll, a hand stretch wrap without a core. It’s a greener solution to stretch wrapping needs: large end users using one pallet per week can take 4 tonnes of cardboard per year out of their waste stream. A pallet of Zeroll is 83kg lighter than a pallet of conventional hand wrap film, so there is also a saving on transport.

We still produce our well-known standard range, and guarantee all aspects of the films we sell, but our new products are increasingly becoming our core products, with sales of Wrapsmartultra and Zeroll currently exceeding all expectations.

WLN – Which industry sectors are your customers in?
We have customers in all industry sectors that use pallets. The major sectors are food and drink, mill reels of paper, paper tissue, liquid packaging, brewing and agriculture. That said, over 30% of our film is used in ‘pure’ warehousing and logistics, outside manufacturers’ own operations.

WLN – What different pallet wrapping films do you produce?
We have a wide range of pallet films which we keep in stock: if customers want special films for cold stores, freezers and so on, we can tailor-make it and enhance particular properties, which is often how our new products are developed.

WLN – How easy are your hand pallet stretch film and other products to apply? Do you provide training in applying them?
Our hand film is designed for application by lone operators, and produced with standard and extended cores. We provide full training on our latest products and a DVD presentation, plus on-site training if required, and are happy for large customers to send their pallet-wrapping experts to us to train. Very few buyers get the opportunity to see their film being manufactured, but being based in the UK we offer the facility, and regularly host such visits.

WLN – How do you sell your products – direct or through agents or distributors?
We meet large end users’ sales requirements direct, and work with a network of agents and distributors to sell to the other parts of the business we can’t otherwise reach.

WLN – Do you make or supply any equipment to apply your films?
Whilst we don’t act as agents or align ourselves with any particular equipment manufacturers, we do work closely with them to make sure our films are suitable for any new machines being introduced into the market. As a result, a number of the major stretch wrapping machinery companies recommend our films for use on their machinery.

WLN – What other industry accreditations do you have as a business?
We have ISO9001:2000 across all sites and ISO14001 at Bridgwater and Leominster. Our Sevenoaks site, which specialises in converter films for the food and medical industries, has held the ADAS Hygiene Accreditation since 1996. We are one of the few packaging manufacturers in Europe to have held this accolade for more than 10 years. We can issue certificates of conformity with every order if required, and offer full traceability.

WLN – How easy are your film products to recycle?
All our products are recyclable and our sister company, bpi.recycled products, is Europe’s largest recycler of polythene.

WLN – Polythene films are made from a by-product of oil refining. Crude oil prices hit record heights in 2008 and now they’re falling again. How do you pass these price changes onto your customers?
Polymer and polythene prices are linked to oil prices. As raw material costs rise and fall, we pass them on to our customers. Most published indexes monitor standard products, but we’re increasingly offering materials that achieve lower gauges and higher yields. These necessitate using more exotic polymers, which can be more expensive to buy but they offer significant cost saving opportunities when used in a thinner film to offset any price increase.

WLN – How is the current economic situation affecting you – or isn’t it?
We’re seeing a dramatic growth in the number of customers trying to achieve more with less: increasingly users are looking at using thinner film, the most direct way of offsetting price increases, but we also have to ensure the right machinery is being used and is operating effectively. Our sales managers spend a high proportion of their day seeing customers, conducting audits and making recommendations.

WLN – How are your sales looking?
We are pleased to say that we’re still reporting sales levels that are very close to budget, and whilst some of our customers are a little quieter than last year we are able to offset this by securing new business, a large proportion of which is through third party recommendation, which is particularly pleasing. As I mentioned, we’re selling more films with thinner gauges and improved yields.

We continue to work very closely with the polymer suppliers, and have advance warning of new materials coming through. We continue to invest in new equipment and technology, and are determined to keep ahead of the game and meet the most demanding applications.

WLN – Will you be taking part in any industry exhibitions in 2009?
Yes, we are. By the time this is published, we are due to have been at Easyfairs ECOPack at the NEC Birmingham (11-12 February.) We’ll also be at Logistics Link North at Doncaster Racecourse in October, and are reviewing other exhibitions offering good opportunities to meet customers in an environment conducive to doing business.

WLN – Finally, where do you see bpi.films going from here?
BPI as a group is renowned for investing in its future, and we constantly strive to raise the barriers and keep some distance ahead of the competition. As new technology and new films come along, they will require significant investment, which we’re in a strong position to make. We also recognise that plastics will have to prove their worth in terms of performance and their effects, however we will ensure our customers continue to benefit from our experience and have the best possible  options.

bpi.films
Leominster
Tel: 01568  617220
www.bpipoly.com
www.bpifilms.com