Throughout March we ran the 'Find the Easter Bunny' competition. We didn't make it too difficult as we hid him on one for the first products you come to on the site - the one bottle sliding lid box.

We had lots of entries and picked Matthew at Well Being People out of the hat as the winner. Congratulations Matthew, your £50 Amazon Voucher will be with you soon.

Keep watching this space - we'll be announcing the April competition early next week - but here's a clue, keep liking and sharing our social media channels!

sales@woodenboxuk.com

At WoodenBox UK, we've just welcomed the first part of our £100,000 investment in new machinery.

The arrival of a second CNC Router allows us to double the capacity in production, enabling us to keep up with existing orders and take on work from new customers.

Our Sales Director, Mike Hodgetts, said, “I’m delighted with the new machine which came online this week. Productivity began to bottleneck towards the end of last year, but now we can go out and look for new orders with confidence.”
The new machine also helps guarantee jobs for our expanding workforce, that climbed through 40 personnel in December.

Manager of the CNC machine shop, Colin (Fred) Inchley - pictured here with operative Dave Radford - says he’s thrilled with the new machine, which is quicker and more efficient. When asked about his new toy Fred said, “It’s great news that the company is expanding and able to offer new manufacturing jobs - there aren’t many of those around these days.” 

WoodenBox UK is part of the Porter & Woodman Group, which is one of the largest employers in the Stourbridge area. The Group has gone from strength-to-strength in the past few years and we attribute this ongoing success to our customer centred sales and production teams.

If you would like any more information about our production facilities and products, or would even like to come and take a look for yourself, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01384 445844 or e-mail sales@porterandwoodman.co.uk

We're sorry to say that Summer is nearly over, which means the Autumn edition of our wooden packaging newsletter, Box It Up!, is OUT NOW!

If you'd like a copy NOW, just CLICK HERE to download a PDF version, or call us on 01384 445844 and we'll send one out in the post to you.

The Autumn edition includes...

...As we move into the Autumn months, most of our customers are gearing up for the Christmas selling period, so we feature our 'off-the-shelf' wooden wine & beer crates and boxes. All of these products can be enhanced with print, which is carried out in our own Screen Print department.

...We highlight our special offers of FREE delivery on all orders over £75.00 and a 10% DISCOUNT when you order 10 or more outers.

...A feature on 'The Premiums', showing how they differ from 'The Standards'

...Examples of our Rustic Crates in action.

...'Look What We Can Do' is a special feature on the back page dedicated to our recent work with clients to design wooden products for a specific purpose.You'll see from the selection we've focused on, that as we manufacture and print at our premises in Stourbridge, West Midlands UK, we can produce a versatile range of products that suit the very specific needs of some of our clients.

So DON'T FORGET...

... you can download a PDF copy of Box It Up! by CLICKING HERE

... you can give us a call on 01384 445844

... you can e-mail us on sales@woodenboxuk.com, or

... just visit the website at www.woodenboxuk.com

WoodenBox UK has trialled a Schoolwork Keepsake Box with two local Primary Schools as a fund-raising item for their PTAs.

The Problem with Promotional Gifts
Print Services Director, Mark Denison, was approached by the PTA of Greenfield School, Stourbridge to come up with a suitable branded promotional gift to sell at their Summer Fayre. The problem with this is the quantities they have to be bought in, leaving the school with excess stock they have trouble selling.

Keepsake Boxes - Made to Order
Mark suggested a variation on one of our standard boxes, with a sturdy drop-on lid and the school crest screen-printed on the lid. The boxes could be made to order, which meant that the school would only pay for items they had already sold. The Greenfield PTA was delighted with the idea, so Mark suggested to his own children's School, St. Joseph's, who were also happy to trial the idea.

A Sturdy Box
The boxes are made out of 12mm plywood and the internal measurements are 325 x 280 x 100mm (that's 13" x 11" x 4" in real money!), so they are able to hold all of the child's work for that school year. The surfaces are sanded down for a smooth rounded finish, with the lids printed in one colour with the crest. Personalisation of the box with the child's name is also available at an extra charge.

Sample boxes were made and printed for both schools to show at their Summer Fayres. Orders were taken by the PTAs and passed onto WoodenBox UK. All the boxes were made and printed to order and delivered before the end of term.

A Popular Idea
The idea has been so popular, we've decided to launch it in September for the new school year. There will be a page on the web site and the facebook pages.

If you would like any more information, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01384 445844 or e-mail sales@porterandwoodman.co.uk

David Harcourt of Stourbridge Chamber of Trade, approached Porter and Woodman's WoodenBox UK division with a challenge - to make a bespoke planter for one of the roads into Stourbridge Town Centre.

You might have thought that this was a challenge too far, but for a skilled Wood Shop that's used to making anything from bespoke wooden packaging and chalkboards through to wooden chicken runs, it was a challenge they took in their stride!

Porter and Woodman's Operations Director, Ian Williams, met with Mr. Harcourt and Council Representatives at the site on the traffic island at the bottom of Stourbridge Ring Road, to discuss the size and design of planter required. A week later, the planter was delivered direct to the site - about 400 yards from our Mill Race Lane factory - and a day after that Council Workers filled the planter with soil and flowers, brightening up the Wolverhampton Road approach to the Town Centre.

If you would like any more information on WoodenBox UK, visit the website - www.woodenboxuk.com, call the sales office on 01384 445844 or e-mail us on sales@porterandwoodman.co.uk