A leading family-owned business Yorkshire Packaging Systems (YPS) celebrated their 45th anniversary in style on Friday 2nd September whilst raising over £3,000 in charitable donations for hospices in the West Yorkshire area.
Around 30 members of staff were amongst a 75 strong group of ‘YPS VIPs’ attending the afternoon event at YPS HQ on Armytage Road, Brighouse, which went on into the evening at the Holiday Inn Leeds-Brighouse hotel.
Founded 45 years ago by lifelong Halifax resident David Johnson, YPS are the UK’s leading supplier of flexible wrapping and bagging machinery and materials. The company supplies thousands of businesses across the UK, including blue-chip brands like BT, Hammonds Furniture, Ideal Standard and Black Sheep Brewery.
Overseen by David’s son-daughter team Glyn and Rachel Johnson, the business has gone from strength to strength in recent years, culminating in not only a successful rebrand but also a relocation from Dewsbury to Brighouse in 2021.
Opening a second distribution centre later last year in Heckmondwike to accommodate their continued explosive growth, YPS have also seen their numbers swell from 20 to 30 employees within just an 18 month period. Thwarted from planning a ribbon-cutting ceremony in 2021 by COVID, YPS pledged to combine the momentous occasion with marking their 45 years in business in summer 2022.
Attendees from scores of businesses (each of whom have played a part in YPS’s four-decades-long journey) came together to celebrate the milestone, including those who have helped to build YPS’s HQ, overhaul their branding and construct the firm’s new website, as well as YPS’s international manufacturing partners who supply their outstanding product range.
Guests from tech giant Zoho, marketing agency ‘The Bigger Boat’, Barclays Bank, PIB Insurance and The Business Exposure Group were all present, to name but a few. Technical delegates from TOSA Group in Italy and from Bollore Films in France were also welcome visitors, as was a representative from YPS’s governing body, the Packaging and Processing Machinery Association (PPMA), headquartered in Surrey. For YPS’s most loyal customers and friends of the business that couldn’t make the date, luxury hampers and bottles of champagne were shipped across the UK and Ireland to thank them for their long-term support.
Guests were treated to a fantastic line-up of entertainment, including Huddersfield-based magician Luke Lenihan who wowed with his captivating card tricks and sleight of hand, and local legend Pete Emmett who delighted the evening party-goers with his side-splitting stand up comedy. The refreshments did not disappoint either, with Julie Emberton from Jules Cakes in Halifax creating a magnificent two-tiered, branded sponge cake bedecked with ‘45’ toppers and a tasty buffet selection laid on by Thyme for Food, Elland.
Having supported Forget-Me-Not Children’s Hospice for several years (raising a huge £20,157 for the charity up until September 2022) as well as Overgate Hospice more recently, YPS launched a fundraising campaign alongside their event to support both charities. By running competitions, raffles and games throughout the day, YPS collected £1,504 in generous donations, which was then match-funded by the family to total £3,008 and split equally between each worthy cause. Representatives from both charities were in person at the party to speak with revellers, promote their work and raise awareness.
During the afternoon event, David Johnson, company chairman, was poignantly presented with a custom-made trophy by his son Glyn and daughter Rachel in front of the gathered guests. As the afternoon’s ultimate VIP, David was recognised for his unfaltering years of dedication, inspired leadership, astute business-mindedness and ever-constant stability he has afforded YPS in a touching speech delivered by his son Glyn. Cutting the inauguration ribbon with a flourish, David then had the honours of declaring the firm’s state-of-the-art Brighouse HQ officially open before unveiling a commemorative plaque to mark the date.
YPS would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to all the guests, colleagues and businesses who contributed to, attended or sent messages of congratulations, cards and flowers in honour of their anniversary party, as well as those who have supported the business in any way – big or small – over the last four and a half decades.
Furthermore, the team express their sincere gratitude for all of the generous donations gifted in the name of their chosen charities, Overgate Hospice and Forget-Me-Not Hospice, upon which these fantastic organisations rely heavily.
‘’We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day to celebrate this happy occasion. It was a joy to share it with our suppliers, partners and friends of our family – old and new – without all of whom we couldn’t have reached this milestone.”
“Our successes, including our recent relocation to Brighouse, the expansion of our workforce and the consistent growth of our market share over the last five years. are down to the solid leadership of my father, a strong network of business connections and our committed ‘YPS family’, all of which we are toasting today. So here’s to the next 45 years of YPS,’’ concluded Glyn.