Member Article

Barnsley packaging firm to double capacity

A South Yorkshire packing manufacturer has said it wants to double its capacity, after gaining £575,000 of funding from Yorkshire Bank.

PBS Packing, which is based in Barnsley, provides food packaging to bakeries and fresh food producers in the UK and Europe, as well as supplying supermarkets with polythene bags for salad, bread and fresh vegetables.

Yorkshire Bank has offered the firm over half a million pounds worth of funding, which includes invoice finance and a facility to swap foreign currency without exchange rate risks.

Founded in 2005, PBS Packaging now has an annual turnover of £3m and a workforce of 30 people, and the business hopes that funding will enable it to increase cashflow and build its capacity twofold, from four million to eight million units a week.

Director Howard Fearnley, was inspired to set up the business seven years ago after his employer, Parkside Flexibles, who made polythene bags, closed down.

Mr Fearnley commented: “As the food sector continues to grow, our cost-effective prices are making us extremely attractive for large companies which need to cut costs while maintaining, or even improving, quality and so we wish to capitalise on this by increasing production.

“As part of this, we are investing in a new wicketted bag-making machine, which will be delivered in February next year and will help us achieve our production goals.

“We also have plans to buy a new printing press towards the end of 2013. Yorkshire Bank understands our business and sector well and has been very helpful in supporting our growth aspirations.”

The invoice partner at Yorkshire Bank, Richard Crossfield helped to arrange PBS Packaging’s funding, along with business development manager for commercial banking, Graham Ibbotson.

Mr Ibbotson said: “Food manufacturing and retailing has continued to expand during the recession in spite of rising prices.

“This is creating good growth opportunities for smart businesses and we are pleased to be supporting production expansion at PBS Packaging Ltd.”

Businesses with over £2m annual turnover can benefit from Yorkshire Bank’s £1bn Business Expansion Fund and its switching package which offers free everyday banking.

Support for start ups is also part of the bank’s growth package, along with help for firms looking to expand or change how they bank.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .