DELIVERING QUALITY WITH EVERY BOX ASSURANCE

Pitreavie Group is a market leader of innovative packaging that provides the food and drink sector with the very best delivery solutions. Group Manufacturing Director Scott Alexander and Michelle Ottolini, Business Unit Director for the chilled packaging division, Sorbafreeze, explained how the group has been improving on sustainability. Report written by Imogen Ward.

ASa hugely successful Scottish enterprise, Pitreavie Group offers its customers a comprehensive service focused on three key values: passion, innovation and care.

“At Pitreavie, we offer a complete packaging solution for our customers,” said Group Manufacturing Director Scott Alexander. “We cover all bases, with chilled packaging, corrugated boxes, packaging consumables, timber and flight cases. On top of that, we provide support on packaging design and our expert team can offer solutions to help reduce the costs and environmental impact of packaging.

“Pitreavie is a one-stop shop for buyers; rather than dealing with multiple businesses, they get all their packaging supplies from us.”

Operating since 2010, Pitreavie Group has grown steadily ever since. Initially, the business provided basic packaging options to its customers, before adding bespoke cor rugate packaging, chilled packaging, timber crates and strapping to its portfolio.

Group history

Founded in 2010, Pitreavie Packaging has grown into a business generating more than £20m of sales, delivered through significant organic growth and a series of acquisitions to extend the product and service portfolio. In 2013, Pitreavie took over Andersons

Packaging in Aberdeen, Scotland. The group made a further investment during 2015, purchasing Sorbafreeze. Originally a producer of unhydrated icepacks, Pitreavie diversified and expanded the company’s capabilities, introducing popular products to the market, including Hydratek Pre-Hydrated Ice Packs and Chilltek Insulated Boxes.

“Back in 2015, the Sorbafreeze business revolved around Aberdeen’s fishing industry,” said Michelle Ottolini, Sorbafreeze Business Unit Director. “Once we acquired the company, we moved it to our Glenrothes site and made a considerable investment upgrading the facilities to gain BRCGS certification.”

Pitreavie expanded its selection again with the purchase of Snapco Industrial Supplies in 2016. Originally based in Glasgow, Pitreavie expanded the Snapco business with a new centre in England – providing an opportunity to enter the English market.

In 2018, the company made further acquisitions of CP Cases, Taylors and Leipers. The following year, Pitreavie moved into a new facility in Aberdeen where it manufactures timber crates, pallets and flight cases, alongside servicing packaging customers in the northeast of Scotland.

Most recently, the company invested £6.8 million in a corrugated box factory in Cumbernauld, Glasgow – the first of its kind in Scotland for over 20 years. Now, with more than 12,000 products available, Pitreavie is a market leader in designing and manufacturing packaging.

Maintaining the perfect temp

With a strong presence in the food and drink sector, Sorbafreeze provides a range of insulated packaging and ice packs. The company also supplies direct-to-consumer food companies, providing the perfect solu- tion to keep products temperature safe and fresh. Deploying expert knowledge on packaging for temperature-sensitive goods, the Sorbafreeze team supports customers to create the best solution for transporting chilled products via the standard courier network.

“We use knowledge gained from over 25 years of manufacturing experience to educate our customers on the safest way to transport their goods,” Ms Ottolini explained. “Thanks to our evolved range of products, our customers benefit from exceptional packaging. As the only BRCGS accredited icepack manufacturer in the UK, our customers can be assured of product quality, legal compliance and high standards in packaging manufacture.”

Sorbafreeze consistently adapts and improves its product ranges. “We are always assessing the feedback we get from our customers; we use it to improve our products to meet their requirements,” Ms Ottolini said. “We recently implemented more recyclable materials and created a kerbside recyclable product. We are constantly improving to give our customers what they need, sometimes, before they even realise what they’re after.”

The company’s latest product, Ecotek, was released in 2022 following significant requests for an eco-friendly insulated option. Ecotek benefits from being 100% kerbside recyclable and is delivered in flatpack form, which helps minimise its carbon footprint. Ecotek comes in 28L and 31L sizes, can maintain a food-safe temperature for up to 48 hours and is BRCGS accredited –making it the perfect partner for any chilled food delivery.

“With Ecotek, we offer bespoke sizes to meet specific packing needs,” said Ms Ottolini. “However, we provide standardised, off-the-shelf sizes as well for those who need the product at short notice. These can be delivered within 48 hours, but normally reach the customer within 24 hours.”

The company’s Sorbatek non-hydrated ice packs also minimise a customer’s carbon footprint. Ultra-compact and offered in a range of sizes, the product is easy to store and saves on delivery space – making it an incredibly efficient and commercially sound way to keep food cool.

“Sorbatek has a minimal carbon footprint,” said Ms Ottolini. “One small box of unhydrated Sorbatek is equivalent to an entire pallet of pre-hydrated icepacks. We are really trying to minimise our carbon footprint and help our customers do the same.”

“We are currently working with a company called Mabbett,” Mr Alexander added, “who are assessing our overall environmental footprint to allow us to create initiatives to reduce it even further.”

Pitreavie Group offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including:

• Corrugated packaging

• Sorbafreeze chilled packaging

• Timber crates and pallets

• Flight cases

• Packaging consumables – bubble, tape, wrap

• Strapping

• Transit packaging

• Packaging automation

• Innovation centre - in-house design and consulting

• Contract packing and fulfilment

• Stock and serve – just-in-time delivery

Packaging that cares

The corrugated packaging side of Pitreavie has experienced steep growth. With a focus on sustainability, the factory has implemented a plethora of new processes and stipulates that all suppliers are FSC certified. The company is making every effort to minimise its carbon footprint. The group works with clients, particularly within the food and drinks industry, to design corrugated solutions and alternatives to plastic packaging.

They also provide bespoke packaging for customers looking to incorporate their own branding onto their packaging. With a growing number of premium whisky brands joining their client list, the ability to provide custom, quality packaging that reflects the customer’s brand becomes a necessity.

“We have three full-time designers and CAD facilities to develop and test new solutions and incorporate a company’s branding into our designs,” said Mr Alexander. “We are also able to make custom shelfready packaging. This effectively reduces the amount of waste produced by doubling up as transit packaging as well.

“Our suppliers provide recycled materials, and our waste is compacted and sent to waste recycling, where it is processed back into our manufacturing cycle. Our waste system is unusual within the industry, because it is belt driven and runs on 1kV motors. This covers waste from our main machines, and then the larger cardboard is sorted into skips.”

The factory has also just installed a new waste system which will deliver the waste to a solar powered compactor unit and has enhanced its effluent plant. If the solar powered compactor is successful, Pitreavie is considering expanding the use of this energy to the plant as well.

Pitreavie intends to continue investing in all aspects of the business. “The group has ambitious growth plans for the whole business,” said Mr Alexander. “In consumables, we are looking at all sorts of plastic alternatives for strapping and fillers”

The group has utilised recycled paper to produce Flexi Wrap (a paper alternative to bubble wrap. Product development is incredibly important, and it will continue to push the business forward.”

“We work with a lot of really exciting brands; there is so much opportunity for growth within Pitreavie,” he concluded. “We hope to bring new talent into the industry as well. We are looking at providing opportunities for school links, to show what design, manufacturing and the packaging industry more broadly has to offer in terms of career prospects.” n