Local Blackhall Colliery man, Gary Bell, is today celebrating his thirty-year anniversary working at BoxWay Packaging Group, the Peterlee-based innovative, customer-focussed, design-led corrugated cardboard business.
52-year-old Mr. Bell, who was born in, and who has lived his whole life in the village of Blackhall Colliery, started work as a printer in 1992 when the cardboard business was owned by Swedish Group, SCA, and based in Hartlepool. He then transferred to the current BoxWay Packaging site at North West Industrial site in Peterlee, less than five miles from his home, in 1999, and was promoted to a Team Leader role in 2006 where he has worked to date.
Gary Bell comments: “It’s hard to believe I’ve been working at BoxWay Packaging Group for more than half my life! I have thoroughly enjoyed working with, and championing my fantastic team here at BoxWay for the last three decades and am very lucky to have a ‘top drawer’, supportive, fair and happy environment to work in, combined with job security, as I have always believed everyone will always need cardboard boxes!
Mr. Bell continues: At BoxWay Packaging there’s a great team spirit and camaraderie and we all encourage, support and help each other in our day-to-day jobs and people are genuinely pleased to come into work. I’ve got to know my team very well and it’s like working with a big family each day and there’s a really good sense of community throughout the business, both on the factory floor and in the offices too. The management are fair and sympathetic, look after us, and really have our interests as employees at heart. I can see myself staying here within my role as Team Leader until retirement!”
Bryan Crennell, Group Managing Director, comments: “Gary brings a huge amount of experience as a printing specialist and Team Leader to his role, and I would like to thank and congratulate him on thirty years’ service to the business. Not only is Gary an excellent Team Leader, but he is also a practiced key player on the Health and Safety Committee as well as an experienced Risk Assessor also, so BoxWay directly benefits considerably from his many years’ knowledge within print and cardboard box making. Our recent significant £2M investment in this site, the first investment at the plant in 22 years, to grow the business and to protect its future by widening the capability of the plant and by growing its capacity relies on experienced, knowledgeable people like Gary who has an excellent rapport with everyone here at BoxWay Packaging. Gary is a highly valued, respected and trusted team member who excels and thrives on managing his team. Gary has formed some fantastic life-long friendships throughout the site and is a huge asset to this business.”
