Kite Packaging was founded in 2001 and has fast become a leading UK packaging supplier renowned for its award-winning, innovative and sustainable solutions, and exceptional customer service. With ten sites strategically located across the UK, we offer a comprehensive range of packaging materials, machinery and bespoke solutions catering to the unique needs of businesses across various sectors. As the UK’s Packaging Company of the Year, we continue to uphold our commitment to quality and efficiency, ensuring that businesses receive the right products at the right price, on time, every time.
Managing Director
Gavin Ashe, Managing Director at Kite Packaging speaks to Warehouse & Logistics News.
What’s the latest news from your company?
We’re proud to announce that our commitment to environmental responsibility has been reaffirmed with our carbon neutral status extended for the fourth consecutive year. This milestone signifies that we have successfully offset all organisational carbon emissions within Scope 1, 2, and 3, including those related to business travel and downstream transportation.
By offsetting our carbon footprint, we’re taking tangible steps towards a greener future while setting a precedent for responsible business practices in the packaging industry. We look forward to furthering our sustainability efforts and collaborating with partners and customers alike to create a more sustainable tomorrow.
How would you explain the Kite Packaging culture?
At Kite Packaging, our culture is rooted in partnership, innovation and sustainable practices. We pride ourselves on fostering a collaborative and entrepreneurial environment where every employee is empowered to fulfil their potential, deliver premium customer service and contribute to our ongoing commitment to sustainability. With a focus on teamwork and continuous improvement, we strive to exceed expectations and drive positive change within the packaging industry.
How does this culture assist your clients’ requirements?
It is pivotal in helping us serve our customers. Being an employee share-owned company, we place the power in our employees’ hands to partner and collaborate with customers. This approach ensures we fully understand and anticipate client needs and deliver tailored solutions with efficiency and excellence to attain customer satisfaction.
Moreover, our culture of continuous improvement drives us to remain at the forefront of industry trends and technological advancements. Thanks to this, we can provide innovative packaging solutions that address the ever-evolving demands of our clients, ensuring that we meet their requirements effectively.
Not to mention that as a carbon-neutral packaging supplier, our commitment to sustainability means that we prioritise environmentally responsible practices throughout our operations, aligning with the sustainability goals of many of our clients. This positions us uniquely to help our customers operate more sustainably across their supply chains, especially where packaging is involved. ‘Love your planet, please use less packaging,’ as seen on our delivery trucks, which is exactly what we aim to help our customers do.
What new services/solutions are you offering in 2024?
Our latest offering, the custom-size box tool, now available on our website, exemplifies our commitment to customer satisfaction. It helps customers save time and money by giving them instant pricing and order capability. By streamlining the long-winded buying process for bespoke -sized boxes, our tool provides a smoother and more efficient overall customer journey.
We have also launched an extensive range of thermal barcode labels and printers to cater to the diverse needs of businesses in various industries, offering high-quality solutions for efficient and reliable labelling operations.
How is Kite’s thermal printers and labels’ range beneficial to businesses?
We’re offering a diverse selection of printers across different price ranges, ensuring there are options to suit every budget and requirement from start-ups to large corporations. This includes direct thermal and thermal transfer printers in desktop and mobile models from world-renowned brands Zebra and TSC, with a Kite printer coming very soon.
Depending on which of the two printing methods a business opts for -direct thermal or thermal transfer – there are varying benefits. Direct thermal printers use heat sensitive labels and apply heat onto the intended area using a thermal printhead, causing that area to darken and create the desired image or text. Without the need for ink, toner, or ribbon to print, these printers and labels offer businesses a cost-effective solution for barcode labels, shipping labels and receipts.
We also stock direct thermal linerless labels which solve the issue of managing backing liner waste by removing it altogether. With zero liner waste to worry about, businesses can benefit from reduced storage and disposal costs, increased operational efficiency, and improved health and safety due to fewer slip and trip hazards. Linerless labels also use ~40% less paper, while providing more labels on a roll compared to linered varieties, resulting in a lower cost per label. Not to mention that their flexibility in sizing and design, which is customisable up to the point of printing, can aid with SKU reduction and consolidation.
Thermal transfer printers, on the other hand, use a ribbon-based printing mechanism with the ribbon coated in wax ink. When the printhead applies heat to the label, the ink fuses on to the label’s surface, creating long-lasting, high-quality images or text. As such, these printers and labels offer durability and resistance to fading and smudging in long-term applications where there is exposure to chemical, light, abrasions, or water. Due to these qualities, thermal transfer is great for manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and retail where it may be used for asset tracking, shelf labelling and blood bags, and cold and outdoor applications.
For these reasons, thermal transfer printers and labels are indispensable tools for businesses operating in various industries, helping them achieve greater productivity and competitiveness in today’s fast-paced market.
Kite Packaging
02476 420065
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