Welcome to the Q3 Newsletter, where we look back on another strong quarter and share some of the highlights.

This edition is packed with the latest news, key developments and a look at what’s next for Hub Packaging.

Thank you to our employees, partners and suppliers for your continued support as we work together for a more sustainable future.

Company overview

A Word From Martin Smyth – Chief Operations Officer

A Word From Martin Smith – Head of Procurement

Strengthening procurement with greater focus, expertise and supply chain resilience.

We have strengthened our Procurement function by creating two dedicated areas of expertise: Buying and Purchasing. Our Buying team will focus on sourcing, supplier relationships, and product quality, while our Purchasing team will concentrate on forecasting, stock availability, order management and inbound delivery performance.

This clearer focus allows our people to develop greater expertise, specialisation, respond more effectively, build forecasting and supply-chain resilience as our business and customer requirements continue to grow.

Global supply

Ongoing Crisis in the Middle East

Over the past six months, global supply chains have faced significant disruption because of the ongoing Middle East crisis. This has led to increased volatility in raw material markets, higher energy costs, freight surcharges, extended transit times with ongoing pressure on manufacturing costs worldwide.

Despite these headwinds, our focus has remained firmly on supporting our customers through proactive planning, close supplier collaboration and maintaining strong stock availability wherever possible. I am proud that throughout this period our Procurement Department has delivered a FTIF (First Time In Full) service level performance of above 98.2%, ensuring continuity of supply for our customers when reliability has mattered most.

Once again, we thank our customers for their continued trust and partnership, we remain committed to delivering the highest levels of service, transparency and support in the months ahead.

EU packaging regulation

EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR)

PPWR officially became applicable on 12th Aug 2026, a number of key obligations are now in force, although many requirements will be introduced in phases between 2028 – 2030 and beyond. PPWR should be treated as an ongoing compliance program rather than a one-off exercise.

To support our customers and ensure their compliance, we have robust technical and supplier information in our database covering our global supply chain. If any of our customers have any doubts or concerns around how PPWR will impact their business we urge you to contact us, our Team are here to help.

Health & safety

Health & Safety

H&S remains a key focus across our whole business, with our simple strapline: Do it the safe way, Do it the right way, Do it every day.

After successful completion of the Racking & Shelving Awareness Course we now have a number of trained Persons Responsible for Racking Safety (PPRS). The extra upskilling places them perfectly to complete in-house racking inspections across our estate.

Operations

What’s Next

October kicked off our initial scoping process and data transformation with our Warehouse Management System (WMS) Partner.

With our focus always firmly on improving our customer experience, our new WMS will be designed to streamline inventory tracking, increase labour efficiency, boost order accuracy, plan and track orders and shipments from a single platform.

PRODUCTIVITY

Training

Hub Packaging has initiated a 10-week Productivity Programme designed to help the team work smarter with the aim of delivering greater value and a better experience for our 3,500 customers across the island of Ireland.

Each Wednesday, the team attends a 20-minute session focusing on what’s important, our time management and planning skills. These sessions have created better accountability and communication across the business.

The programme encourages colleagues to prioritise high-value work, introduce best practice to all meetings and communication. These new habits are already supporting stronger teamwork, greater resilience and consistent, sustainable improvements in service quality and performance.

AWARDS

Sponsorship

We're proud to be a Gold Sponsor of the Irish Logistics & Transport Awards 2027, an event recognising excellence, innovation and achievement across Ireland's logistics, transport and supply chain sectors.

At Hub Packaging, we work closely with businesses to improve packaging efficiency, reduce costs and support more sustainable operations. Sponsoring these awards is a great opportunity to celebrate the people and businesses driving progress across the industry.

We're delighted to be involved and look forward to recognising the achievements of this year's finalists and winners.

PRODUCTIVITY

Warehouse Training

The team recently completed a Racking & Shelving Awareness Course, building their skills to carry out in-house racking inspections. The training covered spotting damage, inspection procedures and practical steps to keep our warehouse safe and running smoothly.

Special thanks to PR Racking Inspections for delivering the course and supporting our team's ongoing commitment to warehouse safety

Peak Season

Q3 Machinery Installs

It’s been a busy quarter for our technician Lester, with plenty of machinery installations keeping him on the move!

As we head into peak season, customers are getting their operations ready for one of the busiest times of the year.

It’s great to see such a wide range of packaging machinery being installed and put to work, helping our customers improve efficiency and keep everything running smoothly when it matters most.

Here's a look at Lester's recent installations!

Awards Shortlsiting

Best Small Family Business of The Year

Hub Packaging has been shortlisted as a finalist in the 'Best Small Family Business of the Year – Ulster' category at the 2026 Irish Family Business Awards!

As a family-run business since 1977, we're incredibly proud of how far we've come. This recognition means a great deal to us and is a credit to the hard work and dedication of our entire team, as well as the continued support of our customers and suppliers.

We need your vote!
We're also in the running for the overall People’s Choice Award, where the winner is decided by a public vote.
If you've worked with us, supported us, or simply want to back a local family business, we'd really appreciate your vote!

Voting closes 25th October 2026.
A big thank you to everyone who has been part of our journey, and congratulations to all the other finalists!

Cast Your Vote →

Product

Education Series

We are currently running an internal product education series focused on some of our key packaging categories, including:

Tapes
Edgeboards
Nano Film
Labels
Strapping
Cardboard

The aim of this series is to further strengthen our product knowledge and add valuable expertise to packaging consultants toolkit. As part of our commitment to being the packaging consultants of choice in Ireland, we continuously invest in developing our team's understanding of the products, applications, and customer challenges across the packaging industry.

This 12-week programme is designed to build long-term knowledge throughout the business, creating a strong foundation that can be developed and expanded upon in the years ahead. By equipping our people with deeper product expertise, we can continue to provide customers with informed recommendations, practical solutions, and exceptional service.

Product

Employee Anniversaries

We're proud to celebrate some important employee milestones at Hub Packaging this quarter. From 6 years to an incredible 22 years of service, these anniversaries reflect the experience, commitment and dedication of our people.

Congratulations to Russell (22 years), Gary (18 years), Lester (10 years), Ed (8 years), Ronan (7 years), Kyle (7 years) and Mairead (6 years).

A big thank you to everyone celebrating a milestone between July and September. Your hard work and contribution help make Hub Packaging what it is today!