LVF Packaging celebrates 40th anniversary with record sales month

LVF Packaging has celebrated its 40th anniversary with a sales record, notching up over £1million turnover in a calendar month for the first time ever.

The company, which today turns over £8million per annum and is based in 25,000 sq ft premises on the Hunslet Business Park in Leeds, was born in a garden shed back in 1985. Harry Coates and his son Nigel building a small vacuum forming machine as a project that was meant to keep Harry occupied following his retirement from Leeds-based games company, John Waddington's – with the first business won being from Waddington’s itself.

40-years later, the business is run by Nigel’s son, Daniel and its products can be found on the shelves of virtually every leading supermarket chain in the UK, plus a plethora of High Street shops.

The company is also at the forefront of the sustainability push by the packaging industry – with 100% of the plastic waste it generates during manufacturing being recycled. 50% of its annual power is generated through its £700k solar installation, low carbon generation and 1.5Mw or battery storage. The business is also a strong advocate for plastic still being the best packaging material, championing for a joined-up approach to recycling to counter the scourge of plastic waste.

Daniel Coates, LVF Packaging’s owner and business development director, said: “I wasn’t even born when my dad and grandad decided to build that first ever thermoforming machine in the garden shed. But I love that they decided it was a good idea, went ahead, did it and then somehow persuaded John Waddington’s to award them the production of its board game plastic trays. I definitely couldn’t see that happening today.”

“To be at the helm of the business as we celebrate our 40th anniversary is a source of great pride for both me and my dad. Even more so when you consider that the business built by my grandad and him and still remains faithful to its initial aims of delivering exceptional thermoformed solutions with a real focus on the kind of excellent customer service we would always hope to receive from businesses we work with.”