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“Since November 2012, Expac have sourced their flexible labour provisions from HEADS Recruitment Ltd. In this time we have seen a much higher calibre of temporary personnel working within our business.  HEADS offer complete professionalism, and are regularly on-site at Expac to run through their extensive induction and training programmes with their candidates.

We have seen a dramatic improvement to the productivity of our temporary workers, and we believe this is down to the Respond Point electronic testing HEADS perform prior to commencement of assignment by each candidate, as well as site orientation tours conducted by HEADS to ensure candidates are familiar with our working environment and day to day duties. HEADS took our very own induction, health & safety and site rules, and composed this information electronically into a Presentation format. We offer HEADS our boardroom facilities, where they are able to present the information to 10-15 candidates at a time, before testing the candidates on the Presentation with electronic keypad technology. The answers the candidates provide are stored on a “cloud” which we are able to request at any time. This completely removes a risk of having people on our shop floor who may have previously just signed a booklet to state they understand our Induction material, as there is a set pass rate which all successful candidates must reach.

We’re extremely happy to have formed a working relationship with Michelle – our dedicated Account Manager from Heads Recruitment – a company who possess the same dedication, determination, ethics, values and commitment as Expac and we look forward to developing this relationship further, long into the future.”

www.heads-uk.com

18^th February 2013

News Update

We have recently purchased a new Mercedes – Benz Sprinter 313 CDI Panel van from Ciceley Commercials limited.

To support our client’s requirements and to improve our logistics support to our customers and supply chain this vehicle will carry four standard pallets or seven euro pallets –

Look out for our vehicle paying you a visit shortly

“Always looking at ways to improve our service – Our commitment to the future and to improve our service levels is paramount at all times “

Thank you

Last year Expac recorded one of our most successful years with growth of approximately 30% on the previous year. This growth has seen a large increase in the number of units being produced and passing through the factory. With production increasing it is vital that we ensure we keep on top of the quality of the products being produced and guarantee that the quality is of the highest possible standards. In order to fulfil this requirement 6 members of staff from various different departments within Expac have taken a course on HACCP (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points). HACCP is a preventive approach to food safety, allergenic, chemical and biological hazards which can be found in production processes.  Rather than being a finished product inspection approach like many quality systems, HACCP looks to prevent potential hazards from occurring in the first place.

In order to gain the HACCP accreditation for the 6 members of staff we enlisted the help of Advanced Food Safety Ltd. The 6 members of staff were identified from across the 3 core sectors of the business; operations, production/quality and engineering. With us already having a HACCP system in place it was decided that by having a multi-disciplined team all trained on HACCP this would enable us as a business to push the ‘nothing but quality’ ideology throughout the entire company. With HACCP now being present within all areas of the business this will help to reduce any potential risks to quality from occurring altogether.

I am pleased to inform you that all members of staff passed the course and we are now striving to further improve our quality management approach through using the techniques learnt from the HACCP course.

Thanks,

Mark Langtree

Managing Director

Hello all and welcome to another news update on the day to day happenings here at Expac.

Following on from my midterm aims news feed I am happy to inform you all that we are now moving forward with our plans to create a bespoke alcohol filling hall. I am confident that if all things run smoothly we should have the alcohol filling plant installed and fully operational before the start of Summer.

In order to ensure that this project runs smoothly and to our time, quality and cost constraints I have appointed a project team to oversee this. As well as appointing a project team Expac have also been able to secure the support of the Government ran Growth Accelerator scheme. As part of this scheme funding has been made available to us to help push our expansion plans forward and ensure that everything is completed to the highest possible standards, which is what we expect here at Expac. Not only this but we are also provided with the consultancy service of an industry expert who’s knowledge and advice will help to ensure that this investment benefits Expac to the fullest possible manner.

So where are we up to? Well, along with the above we have already secured all required filling and mixing equipment needed to fill EDT and alcohol based products. Plans have been made and negotiations are being held with various different contractors to build an industry standard ‘clean room’ where the alcohol filling plant shall be based. The regulations surrounding the filling of alcohol based products have been reviewed to guarantee that everything is done to the required standards. Financial forecasts along with an in depth project schedule have all be drawn up to help ensure that this project runs to plan. Finally, following on from its successful implementation during our factory relocation we are also adopting the Earned Value Performance Management technique which will enable us to measure the performance and progress of this project closely against our targets, thus ensuring its successful implementation. During the progress of this project I shall keep you updated with the developments of this as we go along.

I hope the above gives you a good insight into the progress we are making at the moment. Should you have any enquiries about our alcohol filling plant please don’t hesitate emailing us at hello@expac.co.uk

Thanks,

Mark Langtree

Managing Director

http://www.growthaccelerator.com

How the new Cosmetic Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 could affect your business!

To whom it may concern,

Expac (Preston) Ltd are writing to you with regards to the new European Commission Regulation 1223/2009.  This new Regulation is due to be enforced as of Thursday the 11^th of July 2013. As this new Regulation will affect both ourselves and our customers, we strongly recommend that actions are taken to ensure that all products fall in line with this new Regulation as soon as possible.

This new Regulation influences all products that are designed ‘to be placed in contact with the external parts of the human body (epidermis, hair system, nails, lips and external genital organs) or with teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity with a view exclusively or mainly to cleaning them, perfuming them, changing their appearance, protecting them, keeping them in a good condition or correcting body odours’ (European Commission, 2009, Article 2, definition 1 a). This new Regulation will affect many of our customers and applies to several aspects of the finished product; this can range from the label through to the formulation used. We at Expac (Preston) Ltd understand that the new Regulation requires, in some circumstances, a lot of change and development work to help ensure that products fall in line with the new Regulation. This new Regulation is compulsory to all products that fit the above description and should any products fail to meet the requirements of Regulation 1223/2009 post 11/07/2013, then they are at risk of being withdrawn from the market place.

In order to help ensure all affected customers comply with this new Regulation, Expac (Preston) Ltd have created a partnership with Microbiological Solutions Limited to offer a consultancy service to provide help and advice to all customers who should require it. More information can be found on the company website at http://www.microbiologicalsolutions.com. The service being offered can range from simple advice regarding label requirements through to a full scale service covering all points of the Regulation to ensure that the product is fully compliant.

This is not a compulsory service and can be carried out by the brand owner, but we do strongly recommend that action is taken to ensure that all affected products are compliant. If you would be interested in Expac (Preston) Ltd providing a consultancy service to your brand for this Regulation please complete the attached form, if not then please simply tick the ‘No’ box.

Yours Sincerely,

Mark L. Langtree

Managing Director of Expac (Preston) Ltd

A Letter of Thanks from Lindsay Neville – Runshaw College………

Since the start of the academic year, Runshaw College has been very fortunate to secure the help and assistance of Expac to support students on the BTEC Applied Science course by providing periods of work experience to enhance their studies and support university applications. The aim of the placement is to enable students to gain the knowledge and skills that an employee in the science industry needs to be an effective, efficient and safe member of a team. Students have also learnt communication practices, how laboratories are designed, how information is stored in laboratory information management and how to work safely in a scientific workplace. All of these experiences are invaluable to our students and this collaboration between industry and education is greatly valued and appreciated.

Chris Almond, who is currently in his second year of study and hoping to study Biochemistry at Lancaster University found his week in October both informative and enlightening:

“During my time at Expac I built on the practical skills taught at college and learnt how to take accurate measurements  as well as becoming familiar with more pieces of technical equipment; all of which will stand me in great stead for my studies at university”.

Lindsay Neville

Senior Tutor – School of Science

Hello all,

I hope this message finds you well and you are all enjoying a prosperous and eventful year!

With 10 months gone in our new home I would like to discuss how our hard work and determination have paid off and how we intend to continue to drive on forward.

With all our short term goals achieved I would like to share my vision for where I would like to take Expac over the coming years and how my vision can help benefit you, our valued stakeholders! Over the past year we have seen a massive increase in our sales revenue of 32%, this increase has been fantastic for the business and has enabled us to invest in new machinery, which in turn, shall help us to increase our unit output. I envisage that the increased capacity that Expac shall have will enable us to meet our long term goal of increasing our annual turnover by 10% each year for the next 3 years.

Speaking more specifically about the investments being made; we have purchased and shall be installing 2 further liquid filling lines which shall help to dramatically increase our output for liquid products, something which we have found to be in high demand and a sector of the market that I would like to explore in more detail. We shall be creating a bespoke heated liquid mixing facility, which shall help us to strengthen our position within the cream and wax markets. Based on heavy analysis on our capabilities it has become apparent that by increasing our heated mixing capabilities not only shall this enable us to provide a larger range of services to our customers, it shall also help us to explore other areas of the personal care market that we are yet to properly branch into. As part of the company’s expansion plan we shall also be investing into an extension on our property to create a separate mixing and filling hall solely for the production of ethanol and alcohol based products. This will help is to move into the EDT market, a segment which I have been eager to explore for quite some time. As some of you may or may not know, on our premises we have a second unit which is currently used for storage. 5,000 sq/ft of this space shall be refurbished to a food grade standard – My aim with this is to help move the business into a new direction and sector with the packaging and potentially the manufacture of snack/food products.

Clearly some of the above are big plans for the company and shall take several years to fully implement. I know that all are achievable for us and something which we shall strive towards over the coming months and years. I am sure that you are thinking that these are big plans, how will this be sustained? You are correct these are huge plans, plans which we have not been made easily, but based on endless nights of number crunching and numerous pieces of analysis on the business and the market I believe this shall take Expac into a whole new league. By implementing such plans it will enable us to achieve 10% sales revenue growth each year for the next 3 years and hopefully more!

We feel it important that we ALL know what we are trying to achieve going forward and the enclosed midterm strategy is what we feel can be achieved, obviously we must  not lose sight of what we have and look after that, however, the aforementioned details are what the Directors truly believe can be achieved for the future. So plenty to work on, financial support to achieve the above is already in place and all actions do not increase the overheads so we do not have to worry about any gearing issues – And it goes without saying if we can achieve our aims then we ALL will benefit.

Thank you and looking forward to the future.

Regards,

Mark Langtree

Managing Director.

Hello All,

Yes it is that time of the year again where I provide you with an update as to the goings on here at Expac.

With the business consistently growing and more enquiries being sent in by the day, in turn, the workforce here at Expac needs to be able to handle this increase in demand. Over the past year, the management team and I have identified the importance for investing in today’s youth, not only to provide employment to the gifted people leaving education, but also to invest in Expac’s future and ensure that we have a skilled and competent team in place to enable the business to carry on for many more years. Expac are actively working alongside Training 2000 to provide apprenticeship opportunities to young people who have recently left school, as well as having links with Lancaster University Management School.

Three of our newest team members have come from either Training 2000 or Lancaster University. Please see the following employee profiles to learn a little more about our new team members.

Name: Jordan Geary

Age: 18

Position: Administration Assistant

Email: j.geary@expac.co.uk

Profile: Jordan joined the Expac team in early March. Prior to joining Expac Jordan was looking to enrol on an NVQ level 2&3 course through Training 2000. Following on from a process engineering project here at Expac, changes were made to how we receive and manage goods coming into the organisation. These changes provided an opportunity for someone to come into the business and ensure that all materials moving in and out of the company are managed and documented at all times. Following on from a successful interview where Jordan proved herself to be a friendly and attentive individual, she was appointed as the newest member of the Expac team. During her first few months here Jordan has shown that she is a capable and hard working person whom I believe is a valuable asset to this company already. As Jordan develops within the company not only shall she take on further responsibilities, but she will also achieve her NVQ level 2&3 qualifications. Over time I envisage her being in a position where she shall be actively involved in the purchasing and organisation of the different projects being ran here at Expac.

Name: Robert Langstreth

Age: 17

Position: Junior Engineer

Profile: Rob joined us back in September 2011 as an apprentice engineer. Rob has been working with our engineering team led by Marc Campbell and has been directly involved in the maintenance and servicing of the vast range of machinery which we have here at Expac. Along with the above Rob was heavily involved with our factory relocation project, his efforts and clear understanding of our equipment proved to me that he has great potential and a bright future ahead of him within the engineering world. As time moves on I would like to see Rob working independently within the business dealing with the day to day challenges that exist within the manufacturing world.

Name: David Meredith

Age: 23

Position: Project Manager

Email: d.meredith@expac.co.uk

Profile: David officially joined Expac back in September 2011. He initially came to us whilst studying for his Masters degree in Project Management and helped to plan our factory relocation. Based on the work he did and his desire to see the project through to completion we appointed David as our full time relocation project manager. Having proved himself as a valuable asset to Expac we then appointed David as part of our business development team to learn from and work alongside Steve Jones. Over the past 4 months David has been learning all about Expac as a business as well as the products which we make.  As David becomes fully competent with Expac’s business processes I would like to see him working actively alongside Steve in developing the business and helping to drive Expac forward.

Along with the appointment of the above three people, Expac are actively working with Training 2000 and the local college to help bring opportunities to today’s youth, please see below to see how we are working to provide further opportunities.

Accompanying our drive to invest in today’s youth, Expac have been developing a successful working relationship with Training 2000. As time progresses I shall be creating more apprenticeship opportunities within the business and I hope that we can continue to find such skilled individuals to help Expac grow!

As well as investing in youth, we are also looking to create a welcoming and vibrant environment for our staff. To help us with this we invited a class of Art students from Runshaw College to come and have a look at the business, to gain an understanding as to what we do and to create a range of artwork that we could put within the building. The students submitted various fantastic pieces of art which really grasped what Expac are about and portrayed the company in an art form. The students have then gone away and recreated the original artwork onto 3 large pieces of canvas which we have then hung on the wall of our canteen.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Art students of Runshaw College and the members of staff for creating a fantastic piece of art which will liven up our canteen and help to create an ‘energetic’ atmosphere amongst our staff.

I am also pleased to announce that Expac shall be doing further work with the students at Runshaw College later on in the year, so please keep a look out on our website to see how this develops….

Thank you for reading and I shall be back in a few weeks to let you know how Expac has developed further, perhaps I shall be announcing another new member to the team…

Mark Langtree

Managing Director