A local Bedfordshire company has taken their lobbying activities to the top with a visit to the House of Commons. As the UK’s leading manufacturer of end-of-line packaging machines, Endoline Machinery takes an active role in communicating and negotiating with governing bodies on behalf of their industry as part of their association with the PPMA.
The PPMA is the UK’s trade association for suppliers of processing and packaging machinery and represents over 350 member companies. Its principle objective is to promote sales of machinery, both at home and abroad, through various projects and services of mutual benefit to members and customers alike by providing free technical and machinery information and advice.
Biggleswade based Endoline Machinery Chair and MD, Alan Yates is also President of the PPMA and it is through this connection and his invaluable experience of the industry that he will be speaking in the House of Commons this week.
Alan will address an audience of ministers to outline how the PPMA has made in-roads for the industry by helping to reduce costly regulations and supporting smaller packaging manufacturers. He will also communicate the current focus of the PPMA which more recently has been on the desperate skills shortages within the industry and in securing dispensations for SME’s from the governments so called ‘family-friendly’ policies.
Alan comments: “A fundamental obligation of our trade association is to provide a single voice and represent our member companies, including my own, in the corridors of Government. Therefore I am delighted in the opportunity to put the message across for our industry.
As often quoted by PPMA CEO, Chris Buxton, ‘Governments rarely listen to individuals; they rarely listen to individual companies; but when an entire industry sector speaks with one voice, the voting landscape can be influenced and governments pay attention.’”