Local MP visits The Alexir partnership to hold a key meeting with Chairman Robert Davison.
Robert Davison said, “As well as being the Chairman of the biggest local company in Edenbridge I am also Chairman of the BPIF Cartons, the trade association for carton-converters in the UK. We have been actively encouraging all of our members to engage with their local MPs in an effort to increase the number of active members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Packaging Manufacturing Industry (APPG). We are delighted that Tom Tugendhat, amongst other things, has agreed to become one of these.”
At a BPIF Cartons lunch in January Dick Searle of the Packaging Federation reiterated the need for members of the carton-converting trade association to engage with local MPs and encourage them to become active supporters of the APPG. The APPG meets to create a better understanding of the UK Packaging Industry and to address issues facing the industry from regulation and also to promote the UK as a centre of excellence for packaging manufacture. Once an MP becomes an active member of the APPG the extra support helps the committee discuss issues arising from the EU Circular Economy Package, EU Membership and Energy Policy (to name but three issues facing the industry).
The Packaging industry employs some 85,000 people in the UK, representing 3% of the manufacturing industry workforce and sales of £12billion. Its productivity is significantly higher than that of other industries’ average performance and it is a world leader in product innovation and manufacturing technology. The Packaging Federation and BPIF Cartons are united in their appeal for support to stop any further erosion in the UK manufacturing base and to ensure that packaging manufacture is recognized for its pivotal role in the supply chains.
The meeting held in Edenbridge on 26th February touched upon many of the key issues facing manufacturing businesses in the UK, especially in the uncertain times ahead of the EU referendum.
Tom Tugendhat MBE, MP for Tonbridge, Edenbridge and Malling said, “I am pleased to support Alexir, one of the most important businesses in Edenbridge. They provide good opportunity for employment and skills training locally. I look forward to supporting Alexir and the packaging industry in the future”.
The Alexir Partnership is always pushing forward and leads the way in innovation in the carton-converting industry. Not only do they manufacture over 250 million cartons a year they also run a highly successful food co-manufacturing plant making them a unique ‘design to delivery’ packaging provider for their customers in the FMCG industry.
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Claire Summersby at + 44 1732 448690
