For a straight eight, fc cartons are celebrating their BRCGS – Packaging & Packaging Materials standard retention ‘AA’ grade level.
Debra Woodyatt, Director of Finance & Systems, was both proud and delighted at the retention:
“We’re delighted with the outcome of our Audit; obviously with an ‘AA’ grade for the last seven years, the pressure was on to retain it. It just reinforces the team’s positive work ethic that we all have and is underpinned by our guiding principles; we had great commitment from all the team to contribute to the continual improvements we have introduced this year, everyone has embraced the changes. All of our staff understands the importance of external accreditation to our business.”
The auditor was very complimentary during the BRCGS audit regarding the staff, site and system:
- “Nice & well managed, everyone doing what they should be doing. All your staff were very knowledgeable about the process, quality and product safety standards required
- Nice clean site – Hygiene standards are excellent throughout the facility
- Strong Traceability System – Super effective & sufficient
- Comprehensive system – Excellent management controls which demonstrate continual development and improvement.
- All production facility machinery looked in good order and well maintained”
Jade Murray, Quality & Systems Manager shares the challenges required to meet the requirements of Issue 7 with the implementation of a paperless system into production and her pride about the confirmed retention:
“This year the pressure was really on to retain our AA grade for the 8th year, not only did we have the changes required to meet the requirements of Issue 7 but we also began implementing a paperless system into production in Q2 of 2025 which needed to be robust enough not only uphold the AA grade we have achieved over the last 7 years but also the standards we set ourselves at fc cartons.
Our paperless system was fully implemented into our production records by Q4 2025 with our standard paperwork removed. We have previously had positive comments from our auditors regarding our production records so it was imperative to ensure we could maintain this and demonstrate the continual improvements we have made within the system.
During the implementation of Issue 7 and the paperless system, gap analysis exercises and internal audits have played a key role in identifying areas where improvements could be made to our systems. As always implementing new systems comes with its own challenges however the fc team have embraced the changes we have put into place over the last year and I feel that this demonstrates the fc team culture to always strive for continuous improvement.
With the effort we have put in over the last year, I am absolutely delighted to announce that we have retained our AA grade.
I am also incredibly proud that we achieved no non- conformances related to Issue 7 or the new paperless system. I am excited to see what the next year holds as we continue to implement our paperless system into further areas of the business and prepare for our unannounced window later in the year.”
Team fc, have a 36,000SQFT Production Hub which has been designed to maximise production efficiency. Working in a ‘BRCGS AA grade’ environment ensures they achieve the most efficient and highest quality of finishing, together with exacting standards of hygiene and environmental care. Team fc continually invest in the latest and most efficient equipment available, but it is the team who provide innovation, knowledge, experience and expertise to deliver specialist finishing solutions which dovetail with their customer’s capabilities and requirements.
Managing Director David Woodyatt concluded:
“You can imagine how pleased we all were when it was announced that we had retained our ‘AA’ Grade. A massive thank you to all of our team. This achievement gives our customers’ the assurance and confidence that the highest standards of hygiene and environmental care is evidenced in all our comprehensive range of complete food safe quality carton packaging solutions.”
