It’s hard to believe we are already in the 4th quarter of the year. I hope you had an opportunity to relax and enjoy some well-deserved vacation with family and friends during the summer months.
With 2024 fast approaching, the universal theme is “uncertainty”. Canadian businesses are most concerned about high interest rates, followed by growing concerns about an economic slowdown and possible recession. Your Bunzl teams across the country understand this, and we’re working harder than ever to find more ways to increase the value we provide your business. We look to help drive efficiencies and cost effectiveness with our trusted service model, sustainability solutions, digital ordering capabilities, product category expertise, product innovation and most importantly, new own brands that provide equal to or better product specifications, at lower costs.
Acquiring New Capabilities
One of the most exciting additions to our customer capabilities is the recent acquisition of PACKPRO, a provider of highly efficient packaging solutions for a wide range of food processing and other industrial customers in Canada. PACKPRO’s packaging solutions are designed to maximize productivity through material selection, equipment operating efficiencies, and expert engineering expertise. The business complements our existing industrial packaging business, increasing its geographic coverage for industrial customers right across Canada.
Innovation
As rising labour costs continue to challenge every business, our sourcing teams continue to find and secure new and innovative technologies and tools that help people work more efficiently, and more safely. Our Bunzl Cleaning & Hygiene branches across Canada have been hosting innovation showcase events where you can see live demos of exciting new advances in equipment, products and advanced IoT technology that makes facility cleaning and maintenance more efficient and more sustainable.
Our sourcing teams in safety continue to focus on the latest advances in PPE – most notably the Kyorene cut-resistant glove line, which revolutionizes comfort, fit and safety in hand protection.
Sustainability
Like all of you, sustainability remains a key focus for Bunzl. We continue to add more sustainable food packaging alternatives and invest in our Material Footprint mapping tool to help our grocery customers transition to more sustainable packaging alternatives.
In September we launched a new, environmentally responsible cleaning chemical line under the REGARD brand banner. These products are formulated to tackle tough commercial cleaning challenges while protecting cleaning teams and the environment.
We continue to look for more ways to reduce the carbon footprint of our operations, too, and soon that will include a pilot test for electrical vehicles.
Please enjoy this edition of the Bunzl Business Insider and let us know the best new ways we can help to support to your business. As always, we welcome your thoughts and feedback.
Best Regards,
John Howlett
President, Bunzl Canada