New Export Deals for Grimsby Packing Company
12th February 2007
A PIONEERING fish packaging company has made a flying start to 2007…
A PIONEERING fish packaging company has made a flying start to 2007 by netting five major new orders – four of them export driven.
Tri-Pack Plastics, which recently completed a major investment at it South Humber factory thanks to the success of its revolutionary Coolseal fish boxes,has broken into a number of key European and Scandinavian markets, which could bring even larger orders in the months ahead.
Company founder and managing director Stephen Clarke said: “We are all delighted – Tri-Pack has hit the ground running this New Year.”
He said the export deals involved some of the biggest names in the seafood industry and were all totally new. They were also the direct result of exhibiting at the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels last year, now established as the biggest seafood show in the world.
The new orders will increase the production of Coolseal boxes by at least 100,000 at the outset, but the figure could rise to two million by the end of the year.
Tri-Pack Plastics has been around for almost 30 years, but the breakthrough for this Grimsby based company came when it developed a range of its ground breaking Coolseal boxes, made of polypropylene instead of the more fragile and messy polystyrene.
But the big plus for Coolseal over competitors is that they are 100% recyclable and include a totally leak proof range – a major factor for environmentally conscious European and UK seafood companies.
Tri-Pack’s five success stories are:
Norway
Shortly before Christmas the company hosted a visit by key production managers from the three leading Norwegian seafood companies, which led to new orders. They were Aker Seafoods, the country’s largest exporter of white fish, Pan Fish, the world’s largest salmon producer and Leroy, one of Norway’s main salmon producers. They were taken on a tour of the Grimsby production site before discussing future requirements. The guests were also given a presentation on recycling by Luxus, a company from the nearby Lincolnshire town of Louth, which is at the leading edge of innovation in plastic compounding. They were left in no doubt about the benefit of polypropylene over other materials. “This was a very fruitful day for us,” said Mr Clarke, who has recently completed a return visit to Norway.
Netherlands
Tri-Pack won an order for Coolseal boxes from one of the largest fish producers in the Netherlands. The company packs the Vietnamese species Tilapia for two large French supermarket chains – Carrefour and Leclerc. Tilapia, a high-end seafood product is in big demand in France, were there is a large Vietnamese population, but it is also become popular among the European Frence. Mr Clarke said: “Again we were delighted at the success. The important thing for us was that Carrefour and Leclerc, both important supermarket chains, insisted that the fish be delivered in our Coolseal boxes.”
Russia
A Dutch fish processor based in the port of Urk has ordered hundreds of Coolseal boxes for overland deliveries of fish to Moscow. Mr Clarke said: “The Russians already take Coolseal air shipments of fish – and this is our first over land order. We all are rather thrilled at the factory because it was the first time we have made boxes with the Russian alphabet.”
Isle of Lewis, Scotland
Young’s, Britains largest seafood company, has placed a major order for leak proof Coolseal boxes for its Scottish Langoustine fully processed and packed on the Isle of lewis exclusively for the hotel and restaurant trade. The Tri-Pack chief commented: “Young’s are a valued customer and they recently slightly changed their logo, mainly the colouring. We are proud to be one of the first companies to use that new logo.”
France
The Paris based seafood company Comptoirs Oceaniques, and a major supplier to the retail trade, has recently placed an order for at least 5,000 Coolseal boxes, which could lead to even further orders this year. “This is a highly prestigious company,” said Mr Clarke. “We are delighted to have received our first meaningful order from them.”
He said it was now important to keep the momentum going both at home and in Europe. “Half of our Coolseal sales are now for the export market and that ratio is growing all the time.” Tri-Pack was also celebrating for being chosen as one of a small group of companies selected to be sub sponsors at the North Atlantic Seafood Week and Conference in Oslo at the end of this month.