BoxWay Packaging Group (‘BoxWay’) is officially five years old. Given that only half of businesses make it past their first three years according to Experian, we think that’s a major milestone worth celebrating.
It’s down to the incredible expertise and talent we have in our team, as well as the support of our customers who bought into our vision. It hasn’t always been easy, but the last five years have proven our ability to scale a business and deliver value in emerging packaging markets, develop our capabilities, and create market-tested innovations even in challenging market conditions. Today, those conditions are as challenging as ever, but we know we have the capability and expertise to support our customers through them.
And while we’re proud of our achievements, what the team is most excited about is what it means for us, and our customers, going forward. That’s why we’re looking back on our first five years of success and unpacking the lessons we’ve learned from it.
The beginning of BoxWay
In June 2021, the worst of the Covid crisis might have been fading, but it was far from over. Supply chains were struggling to keep up with the increasing demand for corrugated board and most other forms of fibre-based packaging.
This favoured many of the big packaging corporations, who could leverage established supply chains and the economies of scale to produce the volume required. But it didn’t always favour the brands that worked with them, who were forced to deal with large, multinational suppliers that can often be inflexible and bureaucratic.
There was a gap in the market for an alternative – one that was easier to do business with, more agile, more transparent, and without the politics that big corporations can get bogged down in. The vision and innovative energy of a start-up would make a huge difference to brands looking for a more flexible packaging supplier. But, in the post-Covid world, the reassurance of a proven track record and well-established, robust manufacturing capabilities counts for a lot.
BoxWay was founded to solve that dilemma, combining industry expertise with flexibility and agility.
2021 – laying the foundations
The idea of BoxWay went from vision to reality when CEO Andrew Woollard acquired three sheet plants across the UK. Previously owned by Saica, where Andrew had spent almost a decade as Managing Director of their southern operations in the UK, the sites had a proud history dating back to 1980s.
This gave the company a well-established nationwide manufacturing footprint on day one, meaning we could hit the ground running in the rapidly evolving post-Covid packaging market. The locations of the sites were strategically important, too. Telford became the head office for admin and finance staff, while the Exeter plant in the Southwest and the Peterlee site in the Northeast ensured agile supply to customers anywhere in the UK in one perfectly balanced system.
The Peterlee and Exeter plants had a strong heritage of manufacturing excellence but had not always been a priority for investment for the multinationals that had owned them. This changed as part of BoxWay Packaging Group, with an initial investment that transformed these unloved sheet plants into an independent, integrated, design-led manufacturing system.
That investment covered production infrastructure, design capabilities, key personnel to support existing staff, and more. This laid the foundation for the next five years and beyond.
2022 – keeping up the pace
Hitting the ground running is a good start, but that’s all it is. Businesses need to keep up the pace or find themselves left behind, especially in a market that was still grappling with rising inflation, an energy crisis, and supply chain uncertainty stemming from the war in Ukraine.
The business had to adapt quickly to continue growing. A major two-year multi-site investment programme began, upgrading production processes at Exeter and Peterlee across printing, die-cutting, and specialty gluing systems.
This includes adding all new capabilities like digital printing, high-quality post-print, multi-point gluing, and large format printing, all of which set BoxWay’s sites apart from traditional sheet plants and create an extra layer of flexibility when adding value to projects.
This was combined with IT and infrastructure upgrades and a refinement of our operational structure, building on the solid foundations of the business and supporting long-term growth.
2023 – investing in the future
2023 saw the global economy try to regain its footing after years of disruption. Consumer demand for some goods started to return to pre-pandemic levels, but in other cases, they crystallised and formed something new. For the packaging industry and its customers, new regulations were fast becoming a front-of-mind issue, with the EU finalising the last details in its sweeping Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) reforms (the draft was adopted in November 2023). The UK’s EPR legislation was also introduced in 2023, with both measures forcing businesses to adopt new ways of working to meet increasing sustainability targets.
Thanks to our two-year investment programme, we were already able to support customers through these changes. The completion of the programme meant infrastructure, machinery, IT systems, and software were all future-ready, while also enhancing production capabilities and capacity across both digital and flexo print.
This was proven by the agreement of a new partnership with Reproflex3, which enables us to boost our prepress efficiency at the Peterlee plant, and supports our customers in reducing costs and emissions on every project.
Our position as a leading UK-based independent corrugated packaging manufacturer was further strengthened by the introduction of a new, dedicated delivery vehicle fleet. This put us in control over our logistics operations, strengthening our customer service capabilities and maximising the flexibility that was already built into the business. The BoxWay reputation was for manufacturing agility – now that was matched by our logistical agility.
2024 – the sustainable balancing act
Inflation stubbornly persisted into 2024, limiting consumer purchasing power, while brands faced increasing pressure to comply with evolving sustainability standards. That meant packaging had to walk a tightrope, ensuring it offered performance, cost efficiency, and sustainability.
As a corrugated manufacturer, this put BoxWay in a strong position to deliver for all three needs. Corrugated packaging is strong, cost-effective, and, with our ability to tailor flute profiles and structural design, very versatile. To capitalise on this, we expanded and restructured our leadership across the group. Both plants benefited from the introduction of dedicated site directors focused on quality, service, and operational performance.
This didn’t go unnoticed. The company was honoured with a Five Star Best Practice Health & Safety Accreditation from the Sheet Plant Association in July 2024.
2025 – corrugated packaging thrives in tariff chaos
Tariffs. One short word caused long-lasting disruptions in 2025. The disruption of global trade caused by US tariffs and the uncertainty around their legality had a profound effect on packaging. Some materials, such as metals, were harder hit than others, while fibre-based materials generally benefited as many brands wanted more localised supply chains that more import-dependent metal and plastic materials could not offer.
To capitalise on this, we continued to enhance our technical capability, this time integrating enhanced packaging sealing systems into our process. This included tear strip functionality, meeting demands for consumer convenience.
With sustainability deadlines looming, we were proud to be awarded an EcoVadis Silver rating. This prestigious certification recognises our commitment to sustainable principles in all areas of our business, from our suppliers to our manufacturing processes. We remain fully committed to recyclable corrugated packaging solutions, and we continued to invest in operational expertise and technical skill to make sure we deliver on the BoxWay mission.
2026 and beyond
Five years later, the world has changed a lot and so has BoxWay, but our values remain the same.
Now, our Environmental Management System is aligned to the ISO 14001 standard across all operations, supporting our customers who need a transparent, sustainable supplier in order to meet their own sustainability goals.
We have a workforce of more than 70 expert staff, helping us to respond to customer needs quickly, whatever they might be. We take pride in our ‘yes we can’ culture, where we work hard to accommodate customers and deliver as much value as we can in every pack.
And, most importantly, we’re just getting started. After being founded in the most challenging environment, our first five years have given us a springboard for the next five, and the five after that, and for many years to come. Everything we’ve experienced will help us support you through the challenges of today and tomorrow, whether they stem from energy costs, regulations, tariffs, material costs, supply chain disruption, geopolitical tension, or anything else. We turned those challenges into opportunities. And we can help you do the same.
So, if you’re looking for a straightforward and proactive corrugated packaging expert, you’re in the right place.
Contact our team today to learn more about our portfolio and corrugated packaging expertise.
