Hydro Aluminium most likely supplied the aluminium in the wrapping. We deliver foil in gauges of down to 6.35 microns (a micron is 100 times thinner than a single strand of human hair).

The foil stock is supplied to Hydro’s customer Brand Packaging Ltd. of Manchester, UK, where Wrigley, with its four chewing gum plants in Europe, is the largest purchaser of paper-backed foil.

Brand Packaging’s impressive customer base includes some of Europe’s leading brand owners in the food, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, toiletries and household goods markets; companies such as Wrigley Europe, Haribo, Ryvita, Unilever, Kodak and Sunoco Europe.

For Brand Packaging, which has built up an enviable reputation for quality, providing a vast array of packaging to meet customers’ precise requirements, staying ahead of the field in product development, consistency and quality is vital.

Brand Packaging occupies a unique position as the only independent and the largest foil converter in the UK. By thinking big, and yet retaining a small company philosophy, it can offer an enviable service advantage to customers.

Playing a central role at Brand Packaging ever since an employee buyout in the 1980s have been husband and wife team, Barry and Trudy Nazer. Managing director Barry has many years’ experience in the industry and is a former chairman of the Flexible Packaging Council, while commercial director Trudy practised as a barrister before joining Brand some nine years ago.

When asked about the secrets of Brand’s success, Trudy points out with pride that the company enjoys very close links with its customers. “We are successful because of our personal touch,” she says. “We adopt a very hands-on approach to management and can make decisions quickly. We are able to respond to enquiries swiftly, operate with exceptional lead-times and provide a service package that’s hard to beat.”

According to Hydro’s Bernd Schäfer, European sales manager for foil, the term personal touch also provides an apt description of Hydro’s supplier relationship with Brand Packaging.

“All of our processing units are equally aware of Brand Packaging’s needs. In-depth customer knowledge helps integrate and creates an excellent spirit of teamwork between them.”

Bernd stresses the importance of the supplier’s ability to provide the right processing solutions throughout the value chain. “We have implemented a continuous forecast routine and provided qualified back-up sources to meet Brand’s demands with the appropriately tailored planning and logistic responses.”