business success


Jenton International punches its way to success


Next time you buy a punnet of film-wrapped strawberries or a nice piece of salmon – spare a thought for the role that Hampshire company Jenton International will have played in getting them into your supermarket trolley


The Whitchurch-based business, which has a turnover of £3.2 million and employs 22 people, is a specialist custom engineer of packaging and UV-based equipment.


That means working with major food corporations (among other market sectors), producing everything from the machines that make the holes in food packaging, to the handles on your pack of a dozen toilet rolls; and the specialist UV disinfection equipment that keeps infection at bay.


As a family business which has been going for over five decades, strong relationships are key to its success and one organisation which has stood alongside the business throughout is Barclays.


Managing director Richard Little says a good relationship has been key to the successful partnership.


“The connection with David Abbott, our relationship director, goes right back to when he was at Barclays in Andover, so he has seen us grow over the years and that has been really important,” he said.


“It's all about the personal touch. Having someone who understands small businesses, their quirks and their requirements, makes a real difference and Barclays has been very helpful to us.”


Among the services Barclays provides are day-to-day banking facilities, competitive rates and foreign currency facilities, as well as opening doors in the wider business world, as David Abbott explains.


“We believe the secret of good service is having a long-standing relationship with our customers and we certainly have that with Jentons,” he said. “They are always looking to do something a little different in terms of new product development and we're pleased to be able to help them and make running the business a little easier.


“We've also been able to make a number of introductions and invite them to various events, and that has been just as important as providing banking facilities.”


Jenton, founded in the late 1960s by Little's parents Jenny and Tony, originally focused solely on the plastic industry, designing and distributing equipment for making plastic bags, punching holes and handle cutting, before expanding into wrapping and printing on plastic film.


Little, who is one of two original founder members of the Processing & Packaging Machinery Trade Association, joined the family business in the early 1990s, bringing with him the design and development of food packaging automation systems –


including paper and film banding equipment to help keep food fresh – under the Jenton Ariana banner.


Although last year's introduction


of a 5p charge for plastic bags might have been expected to impact on production, he says the reality is that much of this work had already gone to countries such as Malaysia and China, where manufacturing costs were cheaper.


Instead, his business successfully concentrates on what he calls added value, special purchase bags, items such as tray liners for food, and the equipment to punch those all-important holes in film on ready- packed food cartons.


Alongside this sector, he has also grown the UV arm of the business, taking advantage of UV light technology, which was originally introduced in the 1980s as a way of drying ink.


Today, UV curing, UV adhesives and UV surface disinfection technology represents 45% of the company's business and among its uses is the instant curing of coatings and adhesives on optical fibres, circuit boards and medical devices; while the UV disinfection technology is used to kill spores that create mould, for example in air conditioning systems.


Little is especially pleased that the go-ahead was recently given by the European Food Safety Authority that UV was safe for use in the treatment of milk, something he sees as very important for the company's potential expansion into markets as far afield as India and China.


Exports to Europe and destinations such as Japan, the US and the Philippines, already account for nearly half of sales and Little is keen to expand further.


He is currently on a drive to build a network of local distributors in


Barclays is a trading name of Barclays Bank PLC and its subsidiaries. Barclays Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (Financial Services Register No 122702). Registered in England. Registered number is 1026167 with registered office at 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP. June 2016.


businessmag.co.uk


Richard Little, managing director of Jenton International


overseas territories to strengthen his customer bases and also sees opportunities to license Jenton's intellectual property to carefully- selected partners.


“We already have contracts with most of the big UK food groups and several automotive companies, as well as contract packers and retailers, who are particularly keen on using banding as a more environmentally- friendly packaging solution,” he continued.


“Manufacturers are worried about waste, saving carbon and maximising shelf life and that's something we can help with.”


Richard Little 01256-892194 rlittle@jenton.co.uk jenton.co.uk


David Abbott 07775-540386 david.abbott@barclayscorporate.com barclays.com


The views expressed in this article are the views of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Barclays Bank PLC Group nor should they be taken as statements of policy or intent of the Barclays Bank PLC Group. The Barclays Bank PLC Group takes no responsibility for the veracity of information contained in the third party guides or articles and no warranties or undertakings of any kind, whether express or implied, regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information given. The Barclays Bank PLC Group takes no liability for the impact of any decisions made based on information contained and views expressed.


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JULY/AUGUST 2016


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