Caps Cases shares how continuous investment is the key to success
Caps Cases is one of the largest independent providers of corrugated cardboard packaging, serving clients across the UK from three sites in Newmarket, Baillieston, and Northampton. The combination of family values and innovative technology enables the business to provide an extensive range of products and services, while placing customers at the heart of its operations.
Manufacturing Today has followed the company’s tremendous growth since 2018, when we first spoke to Caps Cases about its five-year investment strategy. It has experienced huge success since its inception and has expanded its product range into new markets. A catch-up between ourselves and Caps Cases is definitely due, as it has once again announced investments in both facilities and machinery, as well as acquired a new company.
Established in 1982, the company takes its name from the first initials of its founders; Charlie Bissett, his wife, Angela, Peter Bush, and his wife, Sue. Trading from a 5000-square-foot facility, Charlie and Peter recruited six individuals to assist with operations, four of whom remain with the business. Today, a further 240 people work across three sites, and, in 2022, Caps Cases recorded a turnover exceeding £30 million. One of Charlie’s three sons, Jamie Bissett, is now Commercial Director, and joins us to discuss the company’s growth and recent investments.
“As a family business, I spent school holidays making boxes in the factory and working on the shop floor, so I naturally fell into the corrugated world,” Jamie begins. “I have observed our natural growth from an early age, which is attributed to successful relationships with clients, as our business typically comes from word of mouth and recommendations. We have a reputation for delivering a reliable and efficient service in our specialist areas – e-commerce, point of sale, and high-quality printed packaging.”
Digital capabilities
Jamie has overseen investment in all three of these areas. “Covid really accelerated the trend towards e-commerce, as people were frequently buying online, so more businesses were looking for appropriate packaging,” he reflects. “Packaging has become the main touchpoint between a business and their end user because it is the first thing the latter sees.”
With 95 percent of British people now purchasing goods through online retailers, there is a strong emphasis on the consumer experience. “Hence, it’s important that our boxes not only look great and arrive safely but reflect and promote our client’s brand identity,” explains Jamie. “We collaborate with clients to guide them through the process, first understanding their needs, designing the concept, and then delivering an appealing, functional end product.” This process is tailored to each client and the company’s digital capabilities allow for individual customization, providing the packaging sector with an unrivaled level of personalization.
Caps Cases also specializes in Point of Sale (POS) services, which has been accelerated by the company’s acquisition of Northampton-based POS business, Nene Packaging (Nene) at the end of 2022. “Bringing Nene onboard is a huge opportunity for us to grow in the POS sector, as Caps Cases is not specifically associated with POS,” says Jamie. “Nene is a small, family-run business specializing in POS design, creating floor stands, shelf displays, packaging sleeves, stickers, and various other retail features.”
Nene’s former site in Northampton has been rebranded as the group’s Design and Display Innovation Centre, equipped with a dedicated team of designers, and is now the design and fulfillment arm of the business. Jamie adds: “I hope that we can help advance Nene’s products by availing them of our Newmarket site’s printing capabilities. Equally, Nene has the design expertise and experience required for us to grow within the POS sector.”
However, for Caps Cases to remain a reputable, successful packaging manufacturer in both e-commerce and POS, it is crucial that it maintains high-quality printing abilities. In March 2022, it purchased the world’s first EFI Nozomi digital printer, which allows it to produce complex flexographic prints with
shorter run lengths. “As soon as we became aware of EFI’s Nozomi digital printer, we knew it ticked a lot of our boxes,” recalls Jamie. “It is much faster than traditional multi-pass digital printing, as the sheet travels under the print head just once, rather than repeatedly. It has taken the pressure off our other flexographic printers, which has in turn reduced our lead times.
“Specifically, EFI’s digital printer has enabled us to print high-quality photographic images onto corrugated cardboard at rapid speeds,” Jamie continues. “There’s no setup costs either, so we can easily provide clients with a sample of the finished product. For example, a start-up company visited us a while back with a vision for their packaging and the guy asked if he could take a sample back to his team. So, our designers drew up the plans, added graphics, and within two hours, he walked away with three different print options under his arm. While I don’t think the designers would want to do that every Friday afternoon, the efficiency of EFI’s digital printer has made it possible!”
Continually improving
In addition, Caps Cases has purchased a JS Printer 924 for its Baillieston, Glasgow facility. The JS Printer 924 is an open-and-close, five-color casemaker machine, with a maximum running speed of 18,000 sheets per hour. The Glasgow site produces high-quality print, primarily for the drinks industry, but as Jamie explains: “We were previously producing most of the material at our Newmarket site and then shipping it to Glasgow for finishing. So, by purchasing the new Casemaker, we have eliminated unnecessary shipping, as the entire process can now be completed at Glasgow.”
Turning to what’s in store for 2023, Jamie predicts: “Although our peak season is just around the corner, this year is set to be a quieter one for the packaging industry. We’ve had two years of Covid related boom, but we are slowly seeing the industry return to pre-Covid norms. We must reap the benefits of this downtime though; there is so much untapped business in POS that we want to explore, and we can spend more time supporting our startup clients.
“I believe the most important thing moving forward is to maintain our quality and service levels, and continue innovating to solve customers’ problems,” Jamie concludes. With the acquisition of Nene and extensive investment in all three specialist areas of the business, Caps Cases is set for continued growth and success in 2023 and beyond.
Caps Cases is one of the largest independent providers of corrugated cardboard packaging, serving clients across the UK from three sites in Newmarket, Baillieston, and Northampton. The combination of family values and innovative technology enables the business to provide an extensive range of products and services, while placing customers at the heart of its operations.
Manufacturing Today has followed the company’s tremendous growth since 2018, when we first spoke to Caps Cases about its five-year investment strategy. It has experienced huge success since its inception and has expanded its product range into new markets. A catch-up between ourselves and Caps Cases is definitely due, as it has once again announced investments in both facilities and machinery, as well as acquired a new company.
Established in 1982, the company takes its name from the first initials of its founders; Charlie Bissett, his wife, Angela, Peter Bush, and his wife, Sue. Trading from a 5000-square-foot facility, Charlie and Peter recruited six individuals to assist with operations, four of whom remain with the business. Today, a further 240 people work across three sites, and, in 2022, Caps Cases recorded a turnover exceeding £30 million. One of Charlie’s three sons, Jamie Bissett, is now Commercial Director, and joins us to discuss the company’s growth and recent investments.
“As a family business, I spent school holidays making boxes in the factory and working on the shop floor, so I naturally fell into the corrugated world,” Jamie begins. “I have observed our natural growth from an early age, which is attributed to successful relationships with clients, as our business typically comes from word of mouth and recommendations. We have a reputation for delivering a reliable and efficient service in our specialist areas – e-commerce, point of sale, and high-quality printed packaging.”
Digital capabilities
Jamie has overseen investment in all three of these areas. “Covid really accelerated the trend towards e-commerce, as people were frequently buying online, so more businesses were looking for appropriate packaging,” he reflects. “Packaging has become the main touchpoint between a business and their end user because it is the first thing the latter sees.”
With 95 percent of British people now purchasing goods through online retailers, there is a strong emphasis on the consumer experience. “Hence, it’s important that our boxes not only look great and arrive safely but reflect and promote our client’s brand identity,” explains Jamie. “We collaborate with clients to guide them through the process, first understanding their needs, designing the concept, and then delivering an appealing, functional end product.” This process is tailored to each client and the company’s digital capabilities allow for individual customization, providing the packaging sector with an unrivaled level of personalization.
Caps Cases also specializes in Point of Sale (POS) services, which has been accelerated by the company’s acquisition of Northampton-based POS business, Nene Packaging (Nene) at the end of 2022. “Bringing Nene onboard is a huge opportunity for us to grow in the POS sector, as Caps Cases is not specifically associated with POS,” says Jamie. “Nene is a small, family-run business specializing in POS design, creating floor stands, shelf displays, packaging sleeves, stickers, and various other retail features.”
Nene’s former site in Northampton has been rebranded as the group’s Design and Display Innovation Centre, equipped with a dedicated team of designers, and is now the design and fulfillment arm of the business. Jamie adds: “I hope that we can help advance Nene’s products by availing them of our Newmarket site’s printing capabilities. Equally, Nene has the design expertise and experience required for us to grow within the POS sector.”
However, for Caps Cases to remain a reputable, successful packaging manufacturer in both e-commerce and POS, it is crucial that it maintains high-quality printing abilities. In March 2022, it purchased the world’s first EFI Nozomi digital printer, which allows it to produce complex flexographic prints with
shorter run lengths. “As soon as we became aware of EFI’s Nozomi digital printer, we knew it ticked a lot of our boxes,” recalls Jamie. “It is much faster than traditional multi-pass digital printing, as the sheet travels under the print head just once, rather than repeatedly. It has taken the pressure off our other flexographic printers, which has in turn reduced our lead times.
“Specifically, EFI’s digital printer has enabled us to print high-quality photographic images onto corrugated cardboard at rapid speeds,” Jamie continues. “There’s no setup costs either, so we can easily provide clients with a sample of the finished product. For example, a start-up company visited us a while back with a vision for their packaging and the guy asked if he could take a sample back to his team. So, our designers drew up the plans, added graphics, and within two hours, he walked away with three different print options under his arm. While I don’t think the designers would want to do that every Friday afternoon, the efficiency of EFI’s digital printer has made it possible!”
Continually improving
In addition, Caps Cases has purchased a JS Printer 924 for its Baillieston, Glasgow facility. The JS Printer 924 is an open-and-close, five-color casemaker machine, with a maximum running speed of 18,000 sheets per hour. The Glasgow site produces high-quality print, primarily for the drinks industry, but as Jamie explains: “We were previously producing most of the material at our Newmarket site and then shipping it to Glasgow for finishing. So, by purchasing the new Casemaker, we have eliminated unnecessary shipping, as the entire process can now be completed at Glasgow.”
Turning to what’s in store for 2023, Jamie predicts: “Although our peak season is just around the corner, this year is set to be a quieter one for the packaging industry. We’ve had two years of Covid related boom, but we are slowly seeing the industry return to pre-Covid norms. We must reap the benefits of this downtime though; there is so much untapped business in POS that we want to explore, and we can spend more time supporting our startup clients.
“I believe the most important thing moving forward is to maintain our quality and service levels, and continue innovating to solve customers’ problems,” Jamie concludes. With the acquisition of Nene and extensive investment in all three specialist areas of the business, Caps Cases is set for continued growth and success in 2023 and beyond.