BBIA members Woolcool received a visit from HRH The Prince of Wales on 19 July as part of the innovative company’s celebrations of 10 years since it began creating ground-breaking sustainable food packaging from wool.
The Prince visited Woolcool’s Staffordshire HQ to learn more about the company’s use of natural materials in insulated packaging, before unveiling a plaque marking its tenth anniversary in business. The Prince is a long-time advocate of the use of wool in industry and is a Patron of The Campaign for Wool, which was launched in 2010.
Speaking at the reception, where he learned how Woolcool use 100 per cent pure sheep’s wool, which is biodegradable, recyclable and reusable, in place of man-made insulators such as polystyrene in our packaging solutions, the Prince said: “I have been enormously impressed by the remarkable degree of innovation and ingenuity which is clearly going on in this country in producing fascinating alternatives to synthetic products, artificial products and man-made things.
“For me, having started The Wool Campaign all those years ago, it is important to remind people of how valuable and sustainable wool is as a fibre and as a natural material and Woolcool has taken it further by demonstrating just how important that material is.”
HRH The Prince of Wales unveiling a plaque marking WoolCool’s 10th anniversary with CEO Angela Morris.
Woolcool’s packaging is used mostly for the transportation of temperature-sensitive good for the food and pharmaceutical sectors, and last year won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category.
Commenting on the Prince’s visit, Company Founder and CEO Angela Morris said: “The Prince’s visit to Woolcool was a wonderful way to mark our tenth anniversary and an event that everyone here will remember for the rest of their lives.
“His Royal Highness was very interested to hear about how we have pioneered a sustainable use of wool in packaging. He also took time to talk to everyone during his visit.”
Managing Director Josie Morris added: “The excitement towards The Prince’s visit has been building for a while. Our Finance Director, Jessica, oversaw so many of the arrangements to get everything just right, but was unfortunately unable to attend on the day.
“We try to create a sense of community at Woolcool, both among our team and with our partners, customers and suppliers, and we wanted today’s visit to be a reflection of that ethos, because so many people have contributed to our success over ten years.
“I would like to thank everyone who joined us on this special occasion to help celebrate our anniversary. To mark this milestone among our friends, and in the presence of His Royal Highness, was truly memorable.”