FDBusiness.com

Pictured (from left to right): Karl Bostock, Paragon finance director; Steve Dunne, managing director of Skanem UK; Tony Lennon, chief executive of Paragon Group; and Dennis Patterson, Paragon operational director.

Skanem UK has completed the sale of its retail food labelling business at its Gateshead operation to Paragon Print & Packaging. “This is part of our strategic changes we are effecting in the UK. We have grown rapidly both in the multinational and the domestic market in recent years, but with such growth comes the necessity to focus on core markets and core activities,” explains Steve Dunne, managing director of Skanem UK: “The expectations from various markets are becoming more demanding. As a consequence, we will focus on serving the growing portfolio of ‘key strategic’ customers as we do not want to give our retailer customers reduced service expectations in the future. We want to continue our focus on high quality customer relations.”

Steve Dunne continues: “Paragon Print and Packaging are highly respected in the food manufacturing and the food retail sector and our food business could not be placed in better hands.”

Tony Lennon, group chief executive of Paragon Print and Packaging, says: “This transfer of business makes good commercial sense to all parties as we continue to focus and expand our strategic commitment to the domestic food manufacturing and food retail sector. The transfer has been concluded in a very fair and open manner and both Skanem and Paragon will continue to work alongside each other to ensure that all existing customers’ requirements are satisfied.”