TWO North East packaging factories have set new production records as they deal with "unprecedented" amounts of work.
The Benson Group, which has owned the former Integrated Packaging sites in Gateshead and Newburn in Newcastle since 2007, said the two factories produced five million printed sheets between them in the week starting July 15.
The Gateshead factory set a new site record, producing three million sheets for the week and Newburn also set a site record with two million sheets.
The two sites produce food packaging for products including ready meals to bakery, confectionery and dairy products for a range of clients including Northern Foods and the big multiple retailers.
Andrew Pybus, general manager of Benson Group North East, said: “We’ve been winning new work recently, it’s all retailer-led for the supermarkets We’ve done it through efficiencies more than anything, using our manufacturing skills. I’m very proud of the team, they’ve done exceptionally well.
“The teams at both sites have really stepped up to the plate this last few weeks. The amount of work coming through our factories at the moment is unprecedented, and we are delighted to say that we have both the people and the equipment, along with the logistics and scheduling systems, to produce these big production numbers.”
The company, which employs around 400 people in the North East, installed new equipment in its Tyneside factories last year to avoid bottlenecks in the production process and this has contributed to the current growth.
Pybus said: “We’ve just recently put in new investment and machinery and the two factories are looking at a turnover of £55m this year. We’ll be looking in 2013/14 at investing further in our capacity and that will include new machines.
“It’s fantastic news in a very difficult environment. It means long-term job security for our workforce.”
The group, which is now approaching its busiest pre-Christmas period, is an approved supplier for all of the UK’s leading retail chains and also exports its packaging abroad.
