From: Packaging News

Flexible plastics firm STM Packaging has gone into administration following declining business.

The Norfolk based polythene manufacturer employed 27 people, and administrators Price Bailey said growing unpopularity of plastic packaging and a “worsening” financial position pushed it into insolvency.

“Single-use packaging is not fashionable for environmental reasons so that has had a negative effect on the company’s turnover – it dropped quite substantially in recent months,” said joint administrator Stuart Morton.

In contrast, five years ago STM was turning over around £6m a year, had invested £150,000 in its headquarters in Concorde Road in Norwich and had accounts with Boots, Cow and Gate, GlaxoSmithKline and Manchester United.

But profits before tax plummeted from £127,719 in 2013 to £47,991 for the year ending May 31, 2014.

By the year ending May 31, 2017 its turnover had dropped to £1.7m.

STM’s Northampton-based subsidiary Shirlplass has been successfully sold and has taken on two employees from the parent company – STM boss Esther Evans will also join Shirlplass as managing director – the fate of the remaining employees is unclear.

The administrators are now selling off Shirlplass shares and selling STM’s machinery through an online auction.

Morton added: “There was a prospect of the sale of the company as a going concern but that was not forthcoming. The plan B is to clear the site and sell the equipment, but it has allowed us to trade profitably for a few weeks to make the most of the pay-out for creditors.”