West Yorkshire manufacturer celebrates 150 years with multi-million pound investment

Keighley based Stell Cardboard Tubes is celebrating turning 150 with a full modernisation and resilience building strategy and investment worth £2m.

Stell, which is one of the UK’s largest cardboard core and tube manufacturers and is relied on by companies to keep their manufacturing operations moving, is marking its anniversary milestone with a full modernisation programme.

Managing Director Lee Skelton explained: “Our cardboard tubes and cores are crucial to the continuity and successful operation of our customers’ factories across the UK, that are manufacturing everything from textiles to plastic film.

“Our products need to be of the highest quality performance to ensure customers can run their factories without interruption. That’s what we’ve been at the cutting edge of for the past 150 years, and will continue to do so for the next 150 years.

“So we are investing in the future by increasing capacity with state-of-the-art core cutting equipment and we’ve increased our workforce by 20 per cent. This builds our resilience and that of all of our customers who we thank for playing a part in what we are today.”

Known for its “technical capability and high-quality performance cores”, the company says much of its success is down to its “family values and the acute commercial part it plays in other companies’ successful operations”.

As part of its modernisation strategy, Stell has also invested in sustainable power technologies, including a biomass boiler and solar power.

And created a bespoke training programme to attract new recruits into the business, which is being led by its highly skilled and experienced packaging engineers. All this investment combined increases its manufacturing capacity by more than 25 per cent.

Stell was founded in 1872 and is now a fifth-generation family run business and one of the largest cardboard core operators in the UK, operating from its 100,000 sq ft modern factory in Yorkshire.

Lee added: “We are incredibly proud of our family roots and how we’ve remained at the forefront of the UK’s cardboard tube manufacturing industry. And we’re excited to build for the future.”

Earlier this year staff attended a 150-year anniversary celebratory reception and dinner at the Coniston Hotel, Coniston Cold. Where employee Dave Wilson received a 50-year long service award ahead of his retirement.

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily

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