Neville and More has been one of the UK's top packaging providers for some time now. Originally a primary packaging distribution company, the firm has grown steadily over the years and now offers distribution for a vast array of packaging components as well as in house manufacturing and consultancy. We chatted with David Sharpe, the owner of Neville and More, here at our offices and got to know him and his company a bit better.

So, David, what exactly does Neville and More do?
We've been a part of the industry for some time, supplying primary packaging to a number of firms in the UK and abroad. More specifically, we offer a number of  bottles, jars, closures, dispensers and sprayers in plastic, glass and aluminium.

Does Neville and More primarily distribute or manufacture?
Well, we began solely as a distributor, but have steadily grown and added manufacturing to our service offering some time ago. In fact, due to the amount of incoming and outgoing items - distributed stock packaging, raw materials, manufactured packaging items awaiting delivery - we built and launched a brand new distribution centre in May, 2012 to ensure we kept close tabs on our logistics.

What markets does your company target?
We're actually quite active in a number of industries. We've created packaging solutions for a wide variety of firms in the health care and pharmaceutical sectors, we've supplied packaging to companies in the cosmetic and personal care spaces, in the food and beverage space, and we've worked extensively in both the household and industrial spaces. Our packaging is quite versatile and can easily be adapted to the specific requirements of clients through variations in materials, decoration options, and such.

What sort of customers do you have in those markets?
Our clients include an impressive list of large household names such as 3M Company, Novartis, The Body Shop, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Marks and Spencer, Selfridge & Co, Next, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer, alongside many smaller and medium-sized companies throughout Europe. Our packaging finds itself at home in a number of industries as well as at various tiers within those specific areas. Meaning, some of our packaging solutions  are perfectly suited to high street luxury brands while others are more appropriate for mass market brands. No matter what sort of product needs to be packaged, we can provide numerous options.

What brands can we find currently using your packaging?
I've lost count! I would say that we're a seminal part of many brands produced by the companies I mentioned earlier, within those key markets. These include well known global brands and smaller niche brands.

Where exactly is Neville and More located?
We are based in the south of England with a sales office in the North of England, a sourcing office in Shanghai, and several distributors located  throughout Europe.

So David, in general, how are things going for the firm?

We are doing very well thank you.

OK, then what sort of changes has your firm undergone over the last decade?
We have grown significantly in just about every aspect of our business. Our sales revenue has increased, along with the number of products we offer. We have also added a number of new customers to our portfolio, joining an already notable number of repeat clients. As a result, we've had to expand our number of employees and our facilities to keep up with the demand.

It's nice to hear that things are going well, but what challenges does your firm currently face? How do you plan to surmount them?
We've worked very hard to make sure that we can provide the most efficient service possible to our customers, while maintaining an excellent level of quality and service processes that are tailored to the character, to the personality, of each of the firms with which we work. We are currently seeking to expand our sales team and provide comprehensive training to our growing team so that we can continue to provide a great service to our rapidly expanding client base.

Where can companies meet you or your team face to face? Will you be at any events this year?
This coming year, we'll be at Easyfairs Birmingham and Easyfairs London, they're close to home. We'll also be at Pharmapack Paris with some new health care and pharmaceutical items we think will prove of interest. We also just exhibited at Scanpack in Sweden to support our growing number of Scandinavian customers. That's a market where we're seeing a lot of interest and growth of late.

Before we wrap up, do you have any innovative products or new lines you'd care to mention?
We're a very agile firm, especially considering our size and the scope of our operations. The fact is, we introduce new products on a monthly basis. Our range of products is constantly growing and correlates to market needs. Hence, it's very important to us to ensure we are in control of our digital assets, like our web site and our client mailing lists. We use them to inform interested parties of new designs and concepts. It's one thing to offer a new product, but if nobody knows you have it, you may as well not bother.