By Scott Wright

WHILE the world awaits the outcome of climate change negotiations at COP26 in Glasgow, a historic company in the city is plotting the next stage of its own environmental evolution.

Cullen Eco-Friendly Packaging has secured planning permission to build a second factory on its 14.2-acre site near Dawsholm Park in Glasgow. The proposed plant, which is scheduled to be ready in the summer of 2023, will raise Cullen’s annual output to some 900 million pieces of moulded pulp and corrugated packaging per year.

Many of those will ultimately be supplied to the company’s current list of big-name clients, which include major supermarkets, the NHS, McDonald’s and Greggs in the form of products such as produce trays and cup holders. These clients are currently served by the company’s existing moulded pulp manufacturing facility, which is capable of making 400 million pieces per year, and will next year be supplemented by two more production lines, increasing its capacity by 45 per cent.

Excavation work is currently taking place on the development site where Cullen is also planning to build a new innovation and design hub.

“The development of Cullen’s new North Factory symbolises our commitment to future-proofing our supply of sustainable packaging whilst creating employment and opportunities for the people of Glasgow,” said Mr MacDonald.

In a week when all eyes are on the COP26 summit, Cullen, which exports to 34 countries, has a compelling environmental story to tell.

Pinpointing the company’s journey to environmental awareness, Mr MacDonald said a key moment came in 2005. That was when Cullen began supplying the NHS, and he found himself questioning why it was having to pay to get dispose of the waste it was creating.

A decision was taken to invest in machinery and tools to allow Cullen to turn that waste into new products.

Now, after creating products out of the board it buys in, the excess material is being turned into moulded pulp.

“The waste from the corrugated box, the waste that would normally go to landfill, now gets a second lease of life when it is turned into moulded pulp,” Mr MacDonald said.

“If you get anything in the NHS, if you get a two-avocado tray, a Henry Hoover – which is the largest-selling Hoover in the world – that packaging comes from our waste from our corrugated boxes.

"Our story of a whole loop system is really what sells. These products are 100 per cent biodegradable, 100% plastic-free.”

Cullen is an old name in the Scottish business world, and can trace its history back around 100 years, when it was founded by Robert Cullen.

It started life in the Yorkhill area of the city, and until around 2000 was located on a site close to where the music venue SWG3 currently sits.

Mr MacDonald’s father acquired the business in 1985. It then had a spell under different ownership, before it was bought back by Mr MacDonald and his father in 2009. Mr MacDonald took sold full control around two and half years ago.

He is keen to emphasise Cullen’s family ethos, and pays rich praise to his team for coming up with the solutions that mean it now supplies some of the “biggest names of the planet [with] millions of pieces… it is incredible how far we have come.”

He added: “I’m a proud Glaswegian guy, I grew up in this area, so the fact that we can employ more people and every machine we build will be adding more staff…I’m just really proud that we can be part of a success story when things have obviously been so difficult for so many.

"It’s our obligation to be able to employ more people in this part of the country.”

Cullen has around 250 staff, which it tops up with contractors when demand dictates. It has not so far experienced the labour shortages that have blighted so much of the economy.

“We have got quite a long-term, core staff that is the backbone to the business,” Mr MacDonald said. “We have actually hired a lot throughout this year, especially the offices. I think we have taken on nine new members of staff since January in the office. That is not on the manufacturing floor – [it is] marketing, finance, sales.”

In fact, Cullen’s trading has been extremely strong throughout the pandemic. That the company is a supplier to the NHS and supermarkets meant that it has traded all the way through.

In addition, it was able to take advantage of the fact that products such as cup holders that were normally imported from other countries were no longer coming because of travel restrictions related to Covid.

“Because everyone was having drinks delivered to their homes, we had to provide the packaging for that,” he said. “That would normally come from Asia or eastern Europe.

“We have seen incredible growth during Covid over the last two years, and because we build our own machines, we are able to move very quickly to accommodate any opportunity for business.”

Mr MacDonald said the efforts of his colleagues has been “phenomenal” during such difficult times

He said: “We stand by each other, I’m heavily involved in the business day-to-day even though I own it, and people can come in and chap my door about getting away early or working partly from home. We have been able to adapt really well over the last two years.”