SPA Committee

Before joining Dairi-Pak in 1991, Tim could often be found in the skies as part of his role as Sales Director at Airpic Aerial Photography. He joined Dairi-Pak to help his father and Dairi-Pak founder, Brian Gray, grow the business. He now heads up a very competent management team, offering strategic insight and funding to ensure Dairi-Pak retain their reputation for excellence. He is Chairman of the UK Sheet Plant Association and champions Best Practice in the corrugated industry. Free time is a thing of the past for Tim with two young daughters. They love to spend time together as a family on the Welsh Coast. When time allows, he is a keen sailor and skier. Tim used his skills as a competent sailor in 2007 to circumnavigate the UK in his boat, raising enough money in the process to build new facilities for a school in Rural Thailand which continues to thrive today.

Ken’s career in the corrugated world dates back to 1982 when he joined the sheet plant Chapman Containers as a fork lift truck driver. Many years, owners, and a name change later he became MD of The Cardboard Box Company. A modern, state of the art well invested sheet plant based in Accrington, East Lancashire, the heart of the industrial revolution and still an industrial heartland today. Ken, now Vice Chairman, joined the SPA over 25 years ago believing in the promotion of best practice for sheet plants.
In June 2018 The Cardboard Box Company was acquired by The Logson Group, the largest independent corrugated manufacturer in the UK.
Ken continues to promote the benefits of the SPA to the industry and is proud to be part of an organisation that has brought numerous positive initiatives to its members on such a small budget. Long may it continue.

Nick is a 40 year veteran of the corrugated packaging and display sectors, having forged a career that encompasses production, sales and general management. Nick is hands-on and passionate about the executive roles he has in organisations such as The Confederation of Paper Industries, FESPA UK and the Sheet Plant Association to promote the good of his industry. In 2001 he established Swanline Print with his brother and brother-in-law as a specialist trade manufacturer to the corrugated packaging and display sectors. Nick is now Chief Executive of Swanline Group. In 2014, Nick founded the independent corrugated sheet-feeder, CorrBoard UK with a consortium of Sheet Plants to establish the UK's first conglomerate owned sheet board manufacturer. Nick's forward vision for this £45m turnover business culminated in a further £5.5m investment in a Bio-Energy facility to provide renewable energy to CorrBoard UK; making them the world's first carbon neutral corrugated board manufacturer.”

Neil Osment has enjoyed over 20 years working for major European packaging companies in both commercial and operational roles. In 2004, he set up Neil Osment Associates (NOA) to provide practical help and support to national and multi-national packaging businesses. In turn in 2012, NOA purchased the packaging research company PRISM from Simon Southern, to broaden the support that NOA offered. Since then NOA has been engaged by many packaging associations such as FEFCO, ECMA, SPA and ICCA as well as with private packaging clients, to offer insights on the European and Global markets for paper-based packaging.

Nick joined the BOBST sales team in 2013 and as an integral part of the team uses his extensive experience and technical knowledge with corrugated board processes and running of plants to assist customers with their machine investments.

Nick understands and values the importance of the Sheet Plant Association within the corrugated market. Independent plants have the ability to react to customer needs and spot market trends and changes through SPA Membership. This is refreshing and challenging for suppliers who have to come up with innovative ways to cope with customer design and production demands.

The SPA is an association that can benefit many independent companies and this is a message that I share with customers and colleagues within the industry. I promote membership and aim to increase member engagement and attendance at SPA events and training sessions which can benefit both Supplier and Converter members.

I volunteered for the Environment and Sustainability role on SPA Committee because I have a natural enthusiasm for environmental protection which I have been able to bring into my work life, with the support of RH Fibreboard. 

In our community in Wellington, and around Somerset, RH Fibreboard has led several tree planting and teaching initiatives with corrugated in schools and actively got customers involved with this as well. 

But working with facts and figures and doing some ambassadorial PR work is really just scratching the surface of a whole area that I would like to get more involved with and gain a much better understanding of.  

Learning about what our affiliates and partners are doing within the industry and how this can benefit the SPA, its members, its partners and our own business are personal goals of mine.

Having been in this industry for 20 years and attended SPA networking events for over 15 of these, I would like to bring some of the enthusiasm I have for our industry’s products and markets and help the SPA promote this in a proactive way.