News

Packaging's Mr Bean is as far removed as possible from his taciturn television namesake when he talks about the potential for the business he runs, Sun Branding Solutions, formerly known as Watt Gilchrist.

Paul Bean has been in charge of the Bradford-based packaging design, artwork and technology group for four and a half years and led it through the acquisition by inks group Sun Chemical in 2006.

Last month’s change of name to Sun Branding Solutions (Packaging News, June 2008) was always planned, as Watt Gilchrist was only permitted to retain its own name for 18 months after the acquisition, and Bean hopes it will herald further growth.

Bean’s ascent to managing director has taken him through a multitude of roles, an experience he says has helped him enormously. He started as an apprentice in the pressroom at John Waddington, the printing, packaging and playing cards group, spending 12 years performing a variety of roles before changing direction and joining Gilchrist, as the firm was then known, in its hand-planning department.

When he joined the company 18 years ago, his original plan was to stay for three years, to learn as much as I could then move on, but everything I wanted to do they allowed me to do. He became production manager, then associate director in 1998 with responsibility for technical sales and production services, and joined the main board as operations director in 2000.

International reach
Now he leads an £18m-turnover firm with 210 staff and four divisions: White Zone, which specialises in strategy and brand design; Gilchrist, for brand graphics and implementation; Sun Brand Technologies, which offers the Odin brand management technology; and Your Packaging Partner, a web-based packaging technology service that provides a database of suppliers and artwork for clients including Asda.

Major retailers such as Wal-Mart and Somerfield are key customers, and the firm’s global reach has been extended to include offices in Toronto, Dubai, Paris, London, Mumbai, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China.

Bean says the company’s core markets will continue to be the UK – where it generates around 70% of turnover – mainland Europe and the US. But it also aims to take advantage of the international presence of Sun and its ultimate parent, DIC Corporation, formerly known as Dainippon Ink and Chemicals.

Emphasis on empathy
Bean says assistance from Sun helped his firm to move into China last year far more quickly than it could have done on its own by setting up a new operation or through acquisition. The offices in China are predominantly staffed by locals, giving Sun Branding Solutions real empathy with the market.

Cultural understanding is something that everybody completely underestimates, says Bean.

Empathy and understanding are words that Bean returns to on several occasions. The desire to become closer to retail customers was a key factor in the company’s decision in the early 1990s to expand its offering from traditional repro to encompass creative and design services too.

Bean also sees an opportunity arising from the increasing tendency of brands and retailers to outsource their packaging technology and management.

Asda and Twinings already use the Odin system, which Bean helped to create, while the group is pushing the Your Packaging Partner service, which employs 11 packaging technologists.

Outsourcing is becoming an issue as companies put a freeze on recruitment, says Bean. Brand owners are experts at negotiating, but we provide intellect for them to make decisions.

Working for major supermarkets also brings its own particular pressures, and the retail market’s cut-throat nature makes it difficult for suppliers to work for multiple multiples.

Bean admits that the firm’s long-standing relationship with Asda – now in its 15th year – could cost it business with other major retailers. However, he is in no doubt that he can live with it, as long as the partnership with Asda continues in the same vein.

Despite fears over the health of the UK economy, Bean is optimistic about the prospects for Sun Branding Solutions.
Companies that protect their marketing spend could end up healthier on the other side, he says.

If Bean has anything to do with it, Sun Branding Solutions will be one of the first ports of call for brand owners and retailers looking for creative and technological advice about their packaging.

He admits that, coming from a production background, he sometimes finds it difficult to accept that a big percentage of the things we work on don’t come to fruition, but stresses that he won’t slow down.

I can’t turn off, I don’t do nothing very well, he says

BEAN ON…

Speed to market Retailers can move more quickly than brands and are invariably more entrepreneurial

The importance of packaging In this economic climate, the piece of packaging is the marketing material. It makes sure there’s a connection for the brands

Customer service The product is almost a given these days. People are the key differentiator so service is paramount