Speaking of the investment at the Herefordshire site, Tony Solé, Operations Director at bpi.films, said: “The investment into our Leominster plant is great news for bpi.films - and for the wider packaging industry. Not only will it ensure we can meet growing demand for our existing range, but it will also augment our ability to produce new ‘downgauged’ products such as our Wrapsmartultra stretch wrap, which offers all the performance of a 14 mµ film from a profile that’s half that thickness at just 7 mµ.

“Such downgauged products deliver much publicised cost and environmental benefits. For a start, considerably less film by volume is required to wrap a given load which means less packaging waste is created. Plus, a thinner profile also means users get more film - and the ability to wrap more items - with every reel. Aside from providing greater value for money, this cuts down on the number of deliveries required and associated vehicle emissions. It also ensures users spend less time ordering that film in the first place and then dealing with it at goods inwards.”

Recongising that opportunities to make such wholesale investments into its business don’t happen often, bpi.films dedicated considerable time, effort and energy into ‘getting it right’. Some two years were spent identifying production plant that would be state-of-the-art, now and for some time to come, thereby delivering an element of future proofing.

A further 14 months were required to build, install and customise the new machinery to exacting, custom specifications. These bespoke adjustments were insisted upon by bpi.films because of its in-depth insight into the needs of film converters and other packaging producers.

In keeping with its accreditation under ISO 14001 environmental management standards, the manufacturer was equally keen for the new plant to boast impressive green credentials. As such, the machinery specified is extremely energy efficient and also allows any scrap created during the production process to be recycled.

In total, two new multi-layer production lines have been created. This complements a number of existing multi-layer lines already at the Leominster site and strenghtens bpi.films’ position as the only manufacturer in the UK to boast five layer blown film production technology. A new pre-stretch machine has also been installed.

Across both lines, robots and a high-degree of automation are widely employed, giving bpi.films exceptional control over factors such as film profile consistency. They also allow the manufacturer to benefit from gains in production efficiency and a range of other ‘smart’ capabilities.

In addition and to accommodate the new plant - which is now fully operational and working around the clock - a new building had to be constucted. This has increased the overall footprint of the manufacturer’s Leominster factory by 2000m2. Twelve new jobs have also been created as a result of the investment and subsquent expansion.

Summing up, Tony Solé, adds: “bpi.films has always had a strong commitment to innovation. It’s this commitment which has seen us continually introduce new products and services such as downgauged films, biopolymer films and free Wrap Audits. The investment at Leominster is just the latest example of this – albeit on a new and unprecendented scale.”