The packaging division of global paper and packaging company Saica has awarded a £2m contract to leading logistics company C M Downton to handle the distribution operation for its Thatcham packaging plant.
Downton is already one of the key logistics partners to the Spain-based company, running a £3m-a-year contract for its paper division to handle inbound raw materials and finished goods in relation to the company’s paper mill and recycling facility in Manchester.
The new contract with Saica Pack Ltd – won by Downton following a competitive tender process – runs for an initial 12 month term but with the option for an extension on a rolling basis. Downton will be handling 30-35 loads per day, delivering packaging materials from Saica Pack’s manufacturing facility in Thatcham to its customers across the UK.
Downton has transferred under TUPE regulations a number of staff from the incumbent service provider, and has now established a permanent team at Thatcham who will manage transport planning for Saica Pack on a full-time basis.
Downton’s management of both the UK paper and packaging contracts means there will be ongoing synergies achieved for Saica, with the transfer of materials between Thatcham and Manchester now handled by the same company.
Andy Downton, managing director of Downton, said: “Saica is now one of our top ten customers and we are pleased to be extending our partnership with them. Our existing contract with Saica Paper and the strength of our network along the M4 corridor makes Downton the ideal logistics partner for Saica Pack’s operation in Thatcham – we hope this is the start of a long and successful relationship with this division of the business.”
Duncan Ward, Regional Logistics Manager for Saica Pack South West, said,
“ We continue to operate in an ever more demanding market place, where demand varies considerably within the working week, and we needed a transport provider, who could cover our sales area, with a combination of core fleet and a national network operated by one haulier, with his own vehicles.
After an extensive contract tender, it became obvious that Downtons were the right partner, based on experience with our sister company, and the offering and support that they could offer over a handover period, coupled with the investment in their IT systems, which we should see later this year.
1. SAICA Group is a leading company in Spain in the manufacturing of corrugating board with a capacity of almost 2.5 million tons of paper. With more than 8,800 employees at present in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, United Kingdom and Ireland.
2. SAICA Group has three business areas: paper mills (Paper), collection of recyclable materials (Natur) and corrugated paper pack containers (Pack). The sales figures of the Aragonese company are 2.378 million euros (31.12.15).
Downton has picked up a string of contract wins and renewals in recent months. In February 2016, the company secured renewals with three of its clients in the paper and packaging sector – Holmen Paper, Norske Skog and RPC Promens – worth around £3.5m a year.
This followed a series of food industry contract win worth a further £2m a year with organic product company Pukka Herbs, salt manufacturer Ineos Enterprises Group and leading snack products manufacturer Kolak Snack Foods.
