FUTURE PROOF:  JJ O'Toole Ltd: After the plastic bag levy, bag manufacturer JJ O'Toole Ltd was fine tuned for the recession, according to managing director Vicki O'Toole

WHEN THE PLASTIC BAG levy was introduced in 2002, packaging company JJ O’Toole Ltd lost 40 per cent of its turnover overnight.

The Limerick-based business, which supplied a wide range of outlets – from supermarkets to clothes shops – with plastic bags, had survived two world wars.

The environmental levy, however, proved to be an even greater challenge, according to managing director Vicki O’Toole.

“We had to re-invent ourselves quickly. In retrospect, we probably should have started looking around for ideas earlier as we knew the levy was coming but we didn’t think it would have the impact it had.”

With the use of polythene being virtually stopped, the company had to take a new tack, reverting back to its roots – paper.

“We had to learn about all the different types of paper, how to overcome the fact that it was so much weaker than plastic, and how to deal with the fact it was more costly to transport. We were getting most of our plastic from the Far East and to ship over containers of paper was four times more expensive than to ship polythene bags.”

The business slowly began to recover as prestige stores opted for upmarket cardboard bags, with contracts once again going to the company.

“A lot of the really nice paper carrier bags you see around are ours,” she says. “The company still does plastic but nothing like before.”

The company supplies bespoke paper bags to companies such as Brown Thomas, Newbridge Silverware, Louis Copeland, Meadows Byrne, Selfridges, Waterford Crystal, and Avoca.

It has more than 3,000 customers in the 32 counties and many more in the UK, including Hughes & Hughes, Vodafone, Unicare and Cuisine de France.

The company also supplies hat boxes, jewellery boxes, postal boxes and e-commerce boxes.

“When you buy something from Selfridges online, the box it gets shipped out in is an e-commerce box. We also do the Brown Thomas gift voucher boxes.”

While the company deals mainly with high-end retailers, O’Toole is quick to point out it is just as interested in small shops.

“I’m as interested in the stand-alone shops as the high-end chains. We give everyone attention.”

The plastic bag levy was only the first hurdle faced by the company in recent years.

“When the recession started, we weren’t as nervous as other businesses, as we felt we had already been through our own mini-recession with the bag levy,” says O’Toole.

“We were well tuned for the recession as we were already cutting overheads due to the environmental levy.”

The company had to make further changes, though, reducing staff pay and looking to cut costs in distribution.

“We really have to be competitive and provide packaging that suits retailers’ spend. We’ve spent a lot of time trying to get our prices down everywhere, from the paper mills to distribution. It’s difficult as paper prices have gone up 40 per cent in recent years, but retailers want to pay less.”

The company has also moved towards helping retailers design packaging.

“We design bags and assist with design as a lot of the smaller retailers don’t have a graphic designer in-house or out-house – we would help them.”

“I’m really excited about the design end of the business but I have to learn to be patient. I always want everything done yesterday.

“We are always looking ahead too. Right now, we are planning for Christmas. In terms of packaging, that’s our busiest time. People don’t want bags and boxes they ordered for the Christmas period arriving in January.”

The company, which will celebrate 100 years in business in 2014, is still changing.

“We’re spending more time on marketing now than ever before. We have a website and are moving towards using Facebook and Twitter more – two things I didn’t think were really important, but I’m finding out quickly that they definitely are.”