In this edition of Meet The Member we speak to Nicola Cummins of Propack Direct Mail Ltd, a GCA Supplier member.
What’s the name of your company?
Propack Direct Mail Ltd
When was the company first set up?
1995
Where is your business based?
Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Who set up the company and why?
Our CEO, Neil Lloyd, set up the company in 1995 with just two staff members. The aim back then was to deliver fulfilment and distribution services. We were picking and packing point of sale materials for a small number of businesses. Four years in, in 1999, we progressed into the Direct Mail market, developing our service offering to include print and enclosing of mail packs for various businesses across several different sectors.
What is the Unique Selling Point of your business? What makes your products particularly special?
We aim to be the most environmentally-friendly printing and fulfilment business in the UK. Being a conscious printer is top of our priority list and we are always looking for ways to improve the impact we’re having on the earth.
In 2017, we launched Ethical Mail®, our own in-house postage brand to support clients with access to sustainable paper supplies, an eco-friendly factory, fair supply chains and a partnership scheme with the Woodland Trust, making all Ethical Mail mailings carbon neutral.
More recently we have partnered with climate positive organisation, Ecologi, to join its mission to reduce 50 per cent of global CO2 emissions by 2040. This involves us contributing towards a range of projects, including tree planting in Kenya, methane capturing projects in India and wind power schemes in Thailand, to name a few.
We’re constantly investing in new technology and machinery to refine our processes. Some examples of which are that we reduced our annual plastic usage by 8 tonnes, by replacing our traditional laminating machines with UV coaters. We’ve also invested heavily in an inkjet printer, which uses water-based inks that don’t contain any hazardous chemicals and uses stock more efficiently, reducing waste significantly.
Direct mail is one of the most climate positive channels, as long as you are working with a responsible team who value sustainability. Paper is (and always will be) easily recyclable and can be sustainably sourced.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Printing and fulfilment has been our bread and butter for a number of years, but we’re proud to say that we also offer a huge range of other solutions. Particularly, web-to-print, which includes e-commerce store set up and integration. A fantastic initiative which bridges the online/offline gap!
You can contact Propack via the GCA directory or on the Propack website.