Menzies wins major extension with aluminium packaging solutions giant

Menzies Distribution has secured a multi-year extension to the existing distribution contract with Ball Beverage Packaging UK Ltd – providers of innovative, sustainable aluminium packaging solutions for beverage, personal care and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services to commercial and governmental customers. The partnership is one of the longest within MDS, having commenced in 1998, and is testament to the close alignment of the two businesses that has been developed over almost 25-years.

The scope of services includes ‘just in time’ (JIT) inbound deliveries, outbound customer deliveries and factory clearance. In addition, MDS also manage the warehouse operations at Milton Keynes and Wakefield.

As part of the renewal, MDS will be introducing 30 new Longer Semi-Trailers (LST) trailers over the next 12months, taking its fleet of 15.65m trailers to 97. These will help remove almost 2,000 loads per year, which will deliver environmental savings in terms of a reduction of 171 tonnes of CO2 per annum as well as improving operational efficiency. The two teams will continue to focus on the delivery of Continuous Improvement initiatives to drive further savings and improvements.

Commenting on the renewal, Mark Davies, Business Unit Director (Transport) said: “Ball is a strategically important customer, so we are absolutely delighted to have secured an extension of our long standing relationship. Over the last few years, the MDS team has successfully delivered a new warehouse and extended the scope of the distribution contract. We understand how important sustainability is to Ball, and the introduction of the new LSTs will deliver meaningful carbon reductions in this area.”

Mark Haslam, Logistics Director, Ball Beverage Packaging EMEA, said: “At Ball we’ve set ourselves ambitious and necessary climate change targets, which are in line with limiting climate change to 1.5 degrees and which have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative. This means making carbon reductions right across the business and we welcome collaborating with suppliers like MDS on adopting new technologies such as the LSTs, which will make measurable impacts in our supply chain.”

Menzies has been recognised by its peers for its commitment to socially responsible and sustainable practices. The group was named Green Fleet of the Year for the second consecutive year at the What Van? Awards 2022, as well as winning Logistics UK’s Green Fleet Van Operator of the Year, the Unipart Logistics award for Sustainability at the Supply Chain Awards and a prize for Green Innovation at the Logistics Leadership Awards. Menzies has announced plans to become net zero for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by no later than 2035 – 15 years ahead of the target date set under the Paris Agreement and in UK legislation.