UK plastic packaging company Spectra Packaging (Halesworth, Suffolk; www.spectra-packaging.co.uk) is partnering with Polish PE tubes manufacturer MPack Tubes (Sobiekursk; www.mpacktubes.co.uk) to boost its product portfolio.

Jonathan Powell, Spectra’s sales director, said: “Due to ongoing demand from many of our existing customers, we spent nearly a year researching the feasibility of increasing our offering to include flexible tubes.” MPack was a “stand-out candidate”, according to Powell, offering superior quality products and an excellent rapid response service.

MPack, located near Warsaw, manufactures flexible tubes to medium- and large-sized companies in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries in the UK and Europe. The alliance means that Spectra can now offer a range of flexible tubes with diameter sizes ranging from 19mm to 50mm and various decorative print finishes, including flexo, off-set and silk-screen printing as well as hot foil stamping. Additional services include tamper-evident shrink sleeving and induction heat sealing.

Both firms are privately owned and quite young – MPack was formed in 2005 and Spectra in 2007 – and provide a flexible and hands-on management approach, a key factor and one that some would argue has been missing in the packaging industry’s growing corporate climate, said Powell.

He also cited rising concern among buyers about the lack of choice of packaging suppliers and the need for healthy competition. “Over recent years we have witnessed a shrinking number of suppliers, particularly for flexible tubes in the UK. The opportunity to offer those customers more choice by working with MPack will certainly satisfy a demand and help allay fears of a growing environment of potentially unhealthy competition,” Powell said.