Packaging One, a family-run Cheshire manufacturer of patented MediaWrap protective packaging, faced a growth bottleneck when a once-in-a-generation £4 million order arrived but cash flow could not cover supplier costs. A £700,000 loan from NatWest, guaranteed by UK Export Finance under its General Export Facility, provided the working capital needed until overseas customer payments were received. The arrangement allowed the company to accept and scale the multi-million-pound contract rather than turn it away. MediaWrap cradles high-value electronics during shipping and has been used worldwide, with North America driving recent expansion. Turnover reached £9.4 million in 2025, with a target of £16 million by 2028 and at least 50 new full-time roles added.
"For an SME, the cruellest moment in any growth story is the one when a once-in-a-generation order lands on the desk, and the cash flow simply cannot stretch to fulfil it. That, until very recently, was the predicament facing Packaging One, the family-run Cheshire manufacturer behind the patented MediaWrap protective packaging used to ship smartphones, laptops and other high-value electronics around the world."
"The Middlewich-based firm has now closed a £4 million contract with one of the world's largest technology companies, after a £700,000 loan from NatWest, guaranteed by UK Export Finance (UKEF) under its General Export Facility, provided the working capital needed to pay suppliers before overseas customer payments landed. Without that bridge, the multi-million-pound order would almost certainly have been turned away."
"It is the kind of deal that neatly illustrates why Whitehall has spent the past three years recalibrating its export credit agency around smaller exporters rather than the headline-grabbing defence and infrastructure contracts of old. Referred to UKEF by the Department for Business and Trade, Packaging One was able to access the GEF's partial government guarantee, typically covering up to 80% of a bank's exposure, and convert it into the cash buffer the business needed to scale."
"MediaWrap is no ordinary box. The patented and trademarked solution is designed to cradle delicate consumer electronics in transit, and it has won admirers from Silicon Valley to the manufacturing hubs of East Asia. Packaging One has now fulfilled orders across North America, Europe, the Middle East and East Asia, with North American demand in particular driving the latest expansion."
Read at Business Matters
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