kp and me

Leigh Bull

Market Director, Rigids and Customer Service for our Food Packaging Division

I’ve have had the pleasure of working as the Head of Customer Service at our Crumlin site in Wales for almost 20 years. For some time, I was also working as an Executive Assistant in the company. I thoroughly enjoyed the role and it gave me some really valuable experiences. It also gave me the opportunity to step up. I am now the Head of Customer Service for our entire Food Packaging division, collaborating with colleagues from all around the UK and the globe.

It seems I was destined to work in the plastics industry! Even before I joined kp, I spent the first years of my career in a small plastics factory in the town where I lived. So in total I’ve spent my entire 29 year-long career in Plastics.

Connecting the dots is my forte

My time and my experience with kp has meant that I have become the go-to person for many, connecting the dots for people who are in need of solutions. I might not have the answer to every question, but I’ll definitely know somebody who does. My role in the organisation means that I can point people in the right direction or call on past experiences. I gladly share my knowledge with the team and with my colleagues of how I’ve previously approached challenges and what worked for me. I hope that this benefits them as they grow and gain experience along the way.

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Consistent communication creates customer success

My philosophy is to listen to the needs of the customer and be as realistic and transparent as possible, managing their expectations where necessary. To that end, my job is to make our customers happy by not only reaching, but exceeding their expectations.

One of the main ways we achieve this is through successful communication between ourselves, the account managers, and our customers. That way, everyone is always on the same page. We work together with our customers and co-create a solution that works for them, based on their specific needs.

That ongoing partnership is what we pride ourselves on and ensures long term customer success.

We’re like a family

There’s a history of family culture here at the Crumlin site and we have continued to foster that over the years. We host an event during the Six Nations Rugby season and it’s fantastic to be able to bring our families together and spend some time with our colleagues outside of work. Pre-pandemic, we organised a 10k run and afterwards celebrated with a family Summer BBQ. I think it’s a wonderful idea to be able to include our families because at the end of the day we spend the majority of our time at work. It’s nice for them, especially the children, to have a little insight into what we do and who we work with.

Onsite, we’re a pretty small team. Everyone gets involved and supports each other around the different parts of the business. The pandemic has certainly presented us with some challenges - but it’s a testament to our teamwork just how well we have been able to rise to that challenge. Fortunately, we have some of the very best people across the various divisions - logistics, planning, customer service, top management, quality and operations.

Onsite, we’re a pretty small team. Everyone gets involved and supports each other around the different parts of the business. The pandemic has certainly presented us with some challenges - but it’s a testament to our teamwork just how well we have been able to rise to that challenge.

Leigh Bull

FP UK Customer Service Manager

Our global family = my greatest kp highlight

In my earlier days I enjoyed organising and attending many great events with kp, but the highlight for me was the 2017 Global Sales Conference in Pals, Spain. We had representatives from around the globe including US, Turkey, Russia and as far as Australia.

We held a global cooking session where each region had to cook a dish that represented their country with the regional manager as head chef. It worked as a fantastic ice breaker and a successful way to network. We even did yoga on the beach early in the morning to refresh and get ready for the next day of conferencing. It was such a highlight to be able to meet different people from different parts of the business and the world - sharing our cultures, knowledge and food! I now have a great network of people that I can call on for a variety of topics and best practice sharing.

The presence of women in leadership roles is greater than ever before at kp and it’s only going to increase, with yet more recognition for the contributions made by women.

We take sustainability seriously

Everyone at kp feels strongly about our responsibility to ensure we’re delivering sustainable innovation in plastics by designing new, more recyclable products and closing the loop by using more recycled material.

The pandemic has helped people to realise that plastics play a crucial role in protecting food and beverage products, as both Brexit and COVID-19 have caused many considerable delays. It’s important for people to realise that food wastage is reduced substantially with the use of plastics, especially in these situations.

As a food packaging manufacturer, we have a responsibility to help encourage and educate consumers to get plastic into the recycling stream and learn more about sustainable plastics as a material for the future.

But sustainability is more than protecting the environment - it’s also about ensuring we are set up for the future. For me, that means doing my part to support women into leadership roles over the next few years and encouraging women in the business to step up and communicate their achievements. As a leader in the business, I already feel it’s my responsibility to amplify praise and accomplishments where possible so those successes gain wider reach and exposure.

The presence of women in leadership roles is greater than ever before at kp and it’s only going to increase, with yet more recognition for the contributions made by women.