The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 15
Plastic Mouldings Northern sales director Freddy Bourdais says his firm now stocks more than 6,000 plastic pallets to serve a growing industry .
Plastics firm is boxing clever as pallets business picks up
By Martin Walker
A County Durham plastics firm is hoping to increase turnover by tapping into a growing reusable packaging market which is already worth an estimated £ 50m .
Plastic Mouldings Northern ( PMN ) has invested in a 14,000 sq ft storage facility which now houses more than 6,000 pallets and plastic boxes .
Sales director Freddy Bourdais says it ’ s a fast-growing side of the business which already makes up 30 % of the firm ’ s £ 2.3m sales .
But he ’ s hoping to expand further after providing plastic storage solutions to a range of sectors and projects – including the production team of hit online TV show The Grand Tour .
PMN supplied a number of plastic boxes to producers after they contacted the Bishop Auckland company with a last-minute request when they were filming in Whitby towards the end of 2016 .
Mr Bourdais explained : “ They called us on the Friday afternoon as they were filming on the Saturday and the weather forecast wasn ’ t good , so they needed more outside storage to protect their filming equipment .
“ We supplied the plastic boxes to them on the Saturday morning and their filming went ahead as planned , so it was a great result all round .
“ We ’ re one of the largest stockists of reusable plastic boxes and pallets in the North-East , and because we have so much choice in stock ready to go it means we can supply the next day , which is a fairly unique service .”
As well as helping producers of The Grand Tour , PMN has also supplied boxes to Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire , and over the years has also supplied more than 200 boxes to store 10,000 naan breads for the Jalsa Salana , an annual gathering of more than 600,000 Muslims held every year in Hampshire .
PMN also supplies boxes to libraries , prisons , schools , food processing and packaging companies and even worm breeders , as well as firms in the automotive and aerospace industries .
Mr Bourdais added : “ There ’ s a misconception that plastic pallets are a lot more expensive than wood , but they provide a lot more protection to products which they ’ re storing as actually they can save manufacturers a lot of money in the long-run .
“ We also sell reconditioned large storage boxes , which are ideal for short-term storage , and we can provide them at very short notice .”
PMN specialises in vacuum forming and producing bespoke packaging solutions to firms across the UK .
Returnable packaging products include Eurostacking containers , pallets and pallet boxes , attached lid containers and ‘ stack and nest ’ solutions , as well as bespoke vacuum forming products .
PMN , based at South Church Enterprise Park in Bishop Auckland , was founded by Bourdais and business partner Mark Rigg with two staff in 2002 , and this year has seen turnover grow by more than 10 % to £ 2.3m , up from just over £ 2m in 2016 .
The firm is planning a £ 1m expansion with the aim of doubling staff numbers and sales .
PMN has built up an industry reputation for supplying Jouplast adjustable risers , which ensure decking and paving slabs sit even , having previously gained an exclusivity agreement to distribute the equipment across Britain .
The firm supplies DIY chains including Homebase , B & Q and Wickes , and it also manufactures parts for the automotive industry , with clients including Bentley , Jaguar Land Rover , JCB and Rolls Royce , while it has also recently supplied reusable packaging solutions to Hitachi Rail Europe .
More details about Plastic Mouldings Northern can be found at pmn . co . uk , or you can give the team a call on 01388 777 700 .