A businessman from Rugby has invested in a 14,300 sq ft factory in the South Wales valleys and set up a niche manufacturing business. Bose Packaging makes bespoke paper carrier-bags for SME contracts in the retail and promotional industry, and offers lead times of less than four weeks to trade customers as opposed to as much as eight to 16 weeks provided by standard overseas suppliers. Cooke & Arkwright acted on behalf of the landlord, B L Trading in the letting at Cyfarthfa Industrial Estate in Merthyr Tydfil.
Sujoy Bose, founder and Managing Director of Bose Packaging, said that there was a gap in the market which his company was ready to exploit. “Most of the trade uses an established chain of specialised suppliers, many of whom import their products from outside the EU. Our unique selling point is that we are able to manufacture bespoke, self-opening satchels (SOS) with twisted paper handles specifically tailored for each customer, with lead times reduced by as much as two thirds. A natural additional benefit, is that due to being in the UK we offer a much lower carbon footprint to our trade customers, which is good for them to promote.”
John Jones of Cooke & Arkwright said that the property was ideally suited to both the manufacturing and warehouse distribution needs of a company like Bose Packaging. ”Cyfarthfa Industrial Estate is well located with good transport links to both the A470 and M4 to the south, and the A465 and M50/M5 to the north. Indeed there seems to be increased appetite in recent months for properties of this nature in the Merthyr and Heads of the Valleys areas.”
Mr Bose added, “We needed a building large enough and flexible enough to accommodate the printing press and conversion equipment and this fitted the bill. The location is good for the staff, all of whom live locally and have extensive experience in the Flexographic print industry. One of the reasons for locating in this area of South Wales was due to the skilled workforce.”
Over the next two years Bose Packaging, which currently employs eight staff, plans to increase production through further machine acquisitions, each of which needs eight people to run, plus further administrators. The company also employs an in-house graphic designer well practiced in artwork proofing for the print and carrier bag industry. “We can produce the most extravagant of prints in much smaller quantities than the main suppliers,” explained Mr Bose. “This allows our clients to change packaging quickly or customise bags to reflect a specific promotion or locality. ”
Bose Packaging offers next day delivery throughout the UK and fast delivery to mainland Europe. Plans for the future include diversifying into value added products such as gift boxes, meal sleeves and cartons.