23 March 2020
After a couple of years of exceptional growth 2018 should have been a year to consolidate on our success. However that was not to be.
The Group’s growth has continued throughout 2018 to break the £30 million turnover, with the Leeds office achieving over £20 million of that. Marmax have hit a whopping £3million again, with Sheffield reaching £6 million and the North East reaching over £4 million.
One of our biggest achievements this year must be the Queen’s Award for Innovation that was awarded to the Sheffield Branch in honour of the Samson Nano. Andrew Grant and Julia Allen were invited to Buckingham Palace to a reception hosted by HRH Price Charles, and in October we welcomed the Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire, Rt Hon. Andrew Coombe, to the official presentation held in Sheffield. We were joined by local representatives including the Sheffield MP and the local Chamber of Commerce, as well as friends, family, clients, suppliers, and staff. The award has fueled an increased interest in the Samson Nano, business of which continues to grow.
In November Andrew and Matthew Grant headed to Germany to sign along the dotted line and join Packsynergy, a collaborative network of likeminded innovative European packaging experts. This is a huge move for the company, as it mitigates against potential Brexit pitfalls, as well as broadens the distribution channels for the Group across Europe. We look forward to swapping best practice with our European counterparts and being the UK arm of Packsynergy.
Earlier in the year we were delighted to include EPD into the Group, increasing our headcount by six, and incorporating £2 million worth of sales into our current trading area. Both customers of EPD and Paul Sykes and his team have settled in nicely. We maintained our ISO 9001 and 14001 accreditations, and improved our rating of BRC storage and distribution at both Sheffield and the North East to double AA.
Marmax celebrated their best ever year in 2018, both in terms of turnover and awards. They were awarded the Gold Green Apple Award for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which Matthew Grant went to collect from the Houses of Parliament, as well as a Green World Ambassador status for CSR. They won Green Apple Awards specifically for their Buddy Bench and Rain Garden, and were regional winners of the EEF Future Manufacturing Awards for Sustainability. In addition they have celebrated being finalists in the National Recycling Awards, The North East Employee of the Year Awards, the PRW Awards for Best Recycled Product, and the Made in North East Awards. Congratulations to all at Team Marmax.
We’ve been happy to support a number of teams and initiatives. Marmax donate to the NSPCC each time a Buddy Bench is purchased, and have a longstanding relationship with the Dogs’ Trust. Sports wise, the Group sponsor Old Leos Rugby, Pannal CC Juniors, Beckwithshaw Cricket Club, and Kippax badminton club including Leeds’ Tim Howcroft which won the Castleford Division 1 Badminton title. We support a number of junior cricket and rugby teams, as well as Underbank RLFC.
Unfortunately this summer we sadly said our final farewell to David Grant, the father of the current Managing Directors, who passed away after a long illness. Not long after we also mourned Peter Stockton, former Managing Director of our Sheffield Branch. Both will be sorely missed by all those who knew and worked with them.
We have also wished well to some of our longest serving members of staff who have retired this year. John Coleman retired after 40 years of service with the company, and Malcolm Dudley also retired, following many years at the company. We wish them all the best in their long and relaxing retirement.
Staff news:
Leeds
New Starters:-
Hayley Jackson – Sales Coordinator Jan 18
Stacey Wood – Receptionist April 2018
EPD Stella Sykes – Sales Coordinator April 2018
EPD Nicole Robinson – Sales Coordinator April 2018
Jake Pemberton – Purchasing Apprentice February 2018
Sarah Duffy – External Sales January 2018
EPD Paul Sykes – External Sales April 2018
EPD Jim Wilson – External Sales April 2018
Lauren Davies – Health and Safety Manager February 2018
EPD Glenn McKay – Warehouse Manager April 2018
EPD Matty Stoker – Warehouse Operative – April 2018
Liam Sandford – Warehouse Operative – March 2018
Lee Carter – Driver September 2018
Leeds Congratulations:-
Lorraine Lapping – became a Grandma for the 2nd and 3rd time with twin girls from one of her daughters and another baby girl from the other daughter, making her the very proud Grandma of 4 girls.
Matty Tood – tied the knot in July 2018 and honeymooned in Bali.
Hayley Jackson celebrated her engagement in June 2018
Jake Pemberton – turned 18 in September.
Richard Knight – appointed England Lions Rugby League Assistant Coach
Matthew Wood – achieved his black belt in karate
Liam Sandford welcomed a baby daughter in August 2018
Matty Stoker got married in October 2018
Matthew Wood – achieved his ILM 3 in Leadership and Management
Tom Brook – became a new member of the purchasing team and started the journey to his CIPS level 3 qualification
Anthony Scarth – achieved his Class 2 Driver licence in November 2018
Both Deb Alderson and Matthew Wood celebrated 10 years in the company.
North East
Nathan Turnbull - Finished apprenticeship and passed NVQ business and administration
Rob Allan - Completed level CIPS
Kieran Ferguson - Started apprenticeship in warehouse
Henry Brown - Passed 18 tonne HGV test
Brian Boucher – welcomed a baby boy Kieran 8lb 14oz
Lee Grayson – Celebrated his engagement and completed 10 years’ service
Rob Spence and Nathan West - Completed 10 years’ service
Carla Dobson returned to work
Sheffield
Amy joined as Sales Office Apprentice in May 2018.
Jacob joined as an Apprentice Warehouse Operative and passed his Counterbalance and Reach Truck licence course
Joint Pink Day/McMillan charity day raised £155 in support of the organisations. Employees baked or brought in goods.
Phil Merrifield got married.
Fancy dress day on the 21st December in support of the British Heart Foundation.
Gary Hepworth won Mr Sleek at his Slimming World Club – most weight loss amongst the men who attend.
Michael Ellis joined the bike to work scheme and is currently in training to achieve the daily commute to and from work.
Michael Ellis, Andy Rycroft and Yasir Iqbal were appointed Fire Marshalls after attending the relevant course
Catherine and Lee passed their CIPS Level 3 and Catherine is in the process of taking Level 4
Rob Mclean has passed a Supervisory Management course
Sylvia has cooked her annual Christmas Buffet treat for all staff at Sheffield
Marmax
Chris Lamb became a dad for the first time and Darren Laidler became a dad for a third time.
Andrew Grant, Joint Managing Director, said:
“In the packaging world 2018 will go down as the year of Planet Earth 2 and the great plastics debate. This adds extra complexity to our role as packaging merchants as environmental impact must be considered on top of price and performance. As merchants we are best positioned to advise on all products because we can source our materials from any technology of manufacture. Paper and compostable must be considered but sometimes plastic remains the most environmentally friendly product. We must not let the fight against plastic pollution negate the bigger fight against co2 emissions. With the environment in mine we are constantly developing new product ranges, and 2018 saw us launch the AirShield range, to challenge the use of expanded polystyrene.
The incredible depth of knowledge and skills across all our businesses means that we are ready for anything 2019 can throw at us. We are the best people in packaging providing the best packaging experience for our customers in the UK.”
What a busy lot! Congratulations to all for all your achievements and for being part of the Samuel Grant Family. Here’s to an equally prosperous 2019!
