Business Hour
Seaways Services is a fine example of a business that, 50 years ago, took the opportunity to diversify and create a vibrant enterprise that now collaborates with world class manufacturers
A multi-generational company that supplies Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm shop with branded glass milk bottles as well as world renowned drinks companies such as Whitley Neill, with printed gin bottles, is celebrating more than 50 years in business.
Seaways Services which recently won Family Business of the Year Award at the Lancashire Business View Red Rose Awards, started out in the 1970s with just four employees. It now has a team of more than 40 and they were thrilled to win the award: “We were absolutely delighted! It’s the first time we have entered any awards but we’ve been going for 50 years and we just thought we’d see what we could do. It’s something the family and the whole team have worked hard for,” says Amy Shaw, the third generation to work in Seaways.
Seaways Services originally started out as a haulage company transporting clay pipes and agricultural feeds from the docks, but by a twist of fate they diversified into glass printing.
Amy explains: “As a haulage company, back then Seaways delivered mostly to local farmers who were experiencing delays in milk bottle delivery. They asked Seaways if they could deliver them.
“At the time many farmers wanted the name of their farm on the bottles so my grandfather had a brainwave and decided to go into glass printing and delivering. It was a steep learning curve going from haulage to glass printing, but the two businesses fitted really well together.”
Founded by Amy’s grandparents Doug Cotterill and his wife Joyce in 1973, today the company is headed up by their children Jayne Fisher and Robert Cotterill who are Managing Directors, with the next generation, including Amy and her cousins, now getting involved in both the haulage and glass printing side of Seaways, which has an onsite garage to service the company’s wagon fleet.
Working alongside Amy is her sister-in-law to be, Sarah Lees, who takes care of marketing at Seaways: “From the early days of the business, Seaways has gradually and naturally evolved. As the glass printing production developed the haulage side has grown with it. We now print six million pint bottles a year, a million litre bottles and half a million 500ml bottles,” says Sarah.
“As a team we have grown along with the business,” adds Amy. “When Seaways first started printing milk bottles, they soon realised they could print on any glass bottle.”
From printing milk bottles Seaways soon began to diversify and over the years has printed bottles for Coca Cola, Seven-Up and Bombay gin. Fast forward to the 21st century and Seaways print bottles for the likes of Whitley Neill and Rare Bird gin, branded ‘Cow Juice’ milk bottles and artisan vodka bottles for Jeremy Clarkson’s farm shop in Oxfordshire.
Also involved in the beauty and cosmetics industry, Seaways has recently produced some niche perfume bottles designed by Icelandic artist Andrea Maack.
“The Andrea Maack bottles went viral on American social media,” says Sarah. “Quite a few of our clients come to us for small orders – we can do that as our production is very specialised.”
Amy adds: “We source our glass from the UK and as a family, we are very proud to ‘back British’. As a close-knit team we know all the processes of the production side of the business and a lot of our customers say we are more like consultants rather than sales people as we nurture them through the whole process, from the shape of bottle, the type of glass and the printing.”
The glass bottles Seaways sources range from standard water bottles to gourmet food jars and decorative bottles for the spirits industry. The company also offers various glass printing methods from traditional silk screen, to pad printing, foil stamping and transfers.
Looking to the future Seaways is also looking to invest in new technology, as Amy concludes: “We are always looking at different printing technologies and sustainable inks. We need to keep moving with the times.”
Seaways Services has also been nominated as a finalist in the North West Family Business Awards, which will be held next month.
