What Polythene UK does

Polythene UK Ltd is a privately held UK polythene and plastics manufacturer and supplier, founded in 2007 and operating from a single site at 4 Witan Park, Avenue Two, Witney, England (Companies House registration 06039291). The company sells a catalogue of stock and bespoke polythene products organised into four pillars: Pallet Wraps & Covers (hand, machine and recyclable stretch film, heat-shrink and non-shrink pallet covers, top sheets, Dolav liners), Films & Bags (LDPE, MDO, layflat tubing, form-fill-seal, agricultural film, mailing, printed, asbestos-removal, compostable and horticultural bags), Flame Retardant polythene including the Verisafe FR300/FR320 shrink film line, and a Sustainable & Eco range (PolyPCW recycled, Polylite lightweight, Polycomp compostable, Polyair carbon-neutral sugarcane-based). It positions itself around the ability to supply thinner, stronger films that reduce material use and carbon footprint, and operates its own MDO film process technology alongside third-party-certified products.

The company sells B2B on a quote-based model with free samples and minimum order quantities, marketing a cost-savings guarantee tied to material yield rather than headline price, and offers next-day delivery across most of mainland UK with explicit exclusions in parts of Scotland and Ireland. End-markets served include pharmaceuticals, food & drink, pet food, agriculture, building & construction (including scaffold containment via Verisafe), local government, petrochemicals, and printers/mailing houses. The firm holds ISO 9001:2015, BRC, TUV Austria, EU Cert Plast, Environment Agency and UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) accreditations, plus product-specific certifications (LPS 1207 and 1215 BRE-audited flame retardant, EN13432 compostability, PAS2050, FDA food-contact). There are no disclosed funding rounds, acquisitions, or external investors; ownership, cap-table and revenue are not disclosed in the available data, and the company is led by Managing Director James Woollard, cited as having 30+ years in the polythene industry. In May 2024 Polythene UK launched a free mobile PolyPCW collection scheme using a van with onboard compactor to gather post-consumer waste polythene from business sites for recycling back into new wrapping.

Name

Polythene UK

Legal name

Polythene UK Ltd

Website

https://polytheneuk.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Polythene UK Ltd is a privately held UK polythene and plastics manufacturer and supplier, founded in 2007 and based in Witney, England. It sells stock and bespoke polythene films, bags, pallet wraps, shrink and stretch films, and an eco sub-range (PolyPCW, Polylite, Polycomp, Polyair, Verisafe) to UK B2B customers across pharma, food, agriculture, construction, MOD and local government.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial polythene packaging films

NAICS

Plastics Packaging Materials and Unlaminated Film and Sheet Manufacturing (32611), Plastics Packaging Film and Sheet (including Laminated) Manufacturing (326112), Plastics Bag and Pouch Manufacturing (326111), Unlaminated Plastics Film and Sheet (except Packaging) Manufacturing (326113)

SIC

Unsupported Plastics Film & Sheet (3081), Plastics Products, Nec (3089)

akta.pro primary industry

Polyolefin Films (PE/PP: Cast, Blown, BOPP) (IMALABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Stretch, Shrink & Pallet Wrap Manufacturing (IMANAEAG), Recyclable/Mono-Material Flexible Packaging (PE/PP-Based, Compatibilized Structures) (IMALABAN), Packaging Film Extrusion (Flexible Packaging Films) (IMANACAA), Compostable & Bio-based Flexible Films and Sheet (extrusion/cast/blown) (IMANANAC), Mono-Material & Recyclability-Designed Packaging (Design-for-Recycling, Barrier Alternatives) (IMALAMAD)

Keywords

• Polythene packaging
• Industrial stretch film
• Shrink wrap supplier
• Pallet wrapping films
• Recycled polythene bags

Headquarters

HQ city

Witney

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Core offering

Polythene UK manufactures and supplies polythene-based packaging films, bags, wraps and covers for UK businesses. Its catalogue spans pallet wraps and covers, LDPE/MDO/FFS/layflat/agriculture films, polyolefin and industrial shrink films, stretch films, carrier/mailing/asbestos/compostable/horticultural bags, and flame retardant films. Eco sub-brands (PolyPCW recycled, Polylite lightweight, Polycomp compostable, Polyair carbon-neutral) plus bespoke manufacturing and a free mobile polythene recycling scheme round out the offering.

Product overview

Polythene UK is a single-line polythene/plastics manufacturer and supplier (operating since 2007, under MD James Woollard) that offers a unified product catalogue organised into four pillars: Pallet Wraps & Covers, Films & Bags, Flame Retardant Polythene, and a Sustainable & Eco range. The portfolio is structured as a core catalogue of stock products (e.g. Hand Pallet Wrap, Machine Pallet Wrap, Recyclable Pallet Wrap, Heat Shrink and Non-Shrink Pallet Covers, Pallet Top Sheets, Dolav Liners) layered with detailed sub-products (LDPE Film, MDO Film, Layflat Tubing, Form-Fill-Seal Film, Agriculture Film, Polyolefin Shrink Film, Industrial Shrink Wrap, Scaffold Shrink Wrap, Modular Building Covers, Machine/Mini/Ventilated/Agricultural Stretch Film) and a branded eco sub-range (PolyPCW recycled polythene, Polylite lightweight film, Polycomp compostable bags, Polyair carbon-neutral sugarcane-based polythene, and Sugar Cane-Based Polythene). Services include bespoke manufacturing, free sample requests, and a free mobile polythene recycling scheme (PolyPCW collection). Industry verticals served include pharmaceuticals, food & drink, pet food, agriculture, building & construction, local government, petrochemicals, and printers/mailing houses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PolyPCW: Eco-focused polythene range made from post-consumer waste (PCW) — materials that have already been used and discarded by consumers and are reprocessed into new polythene products.
• Polylite
• Polycomp
• Polyair

Products and services

• Pallet Wraps & Covers Range of pallet stretch films (hand, machine and recyclable) and pallet covers (heat shrink, non-shrink, top sheets) plus Dolav bulk-container liners for warehouse, logistics and shipping operations.
• Polythene Film Range of thin, flexible polythene films including LDPE, MDO, layflat tubing, form-fill-seal, and agricultural films for packaging, protection and food industry use.
• Polythene Bags Range of polythene bags including wholesale carrier, printed, mailing, asbestos removal, compostable, flame retardant, and horticultural bags and liners.
• Shrink Wraps Shrink film range including polyolefin (POF), industrial shrink wrap, scaffold shrink wrap, modular building covers and Verisafe flame-retardant shrink film.
• Stretch Films Stretch film range including machine stretch film, mini stretch film, agricultural stretch wrap, and ventilated stretch film, with recycled-content variants.
• Flame Retardant Polythene Flame retardant polythene films, bags and shrink film (including Verisafe FR300/FR320) developed for environments where added fire safety and compliance are required, in sizes 200mm to 12m wide and thicknesses 12.5mu to 400mu.
• PolyPCW Recycled polythene made from post-consumer waste (PCW), separated and reprocessed into new polythene products, supporting the company's free mobile PCW collection scheme.
• Polylite Lightweight polythene film up to 20% lighter than traditional material, with multi-layered durable design suitable for bags, pallet covers and liners; PAS2050 certified.
• Polycomp Starch-based compostable polythene bags that fully biodegrade within 10 days under the right conditions, EN13432 certified, made without GMOs, available loose, boxed or on perforated rolls.
• Polyair Carbon-neutral polythene made from sugarcane waste; 100% recyclable, performs identically to fossil fuel-based plastics, reduces CO2 by 96%.
• Sugar Cane-Based Polythene Bio-based polythene derived from sugarcane, positioned as a carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuel-based polythene.
• Free Mobile Polythene Recycling Scheme Free mobile service that travels to business sites to collect and recycle waste polythene using a van with an onboard compactor, turning post-consumer waste (PCW) into new plastic wrapping.
• Bespoke Manufacturing Service Custom polythene manufacturing service tailoring film specifications to customer application requirements, supported by free sample requests and minimum order quantities.

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Berry Global (formerly RPC Group): Global plastics and packaging manufacturer with significant UK operations (incorporating the legacy RPC Group), producing films, bags and rigid packaging. A broad incumbent with overlapping polythene film capabilities across pallet wrap, films and specialty packaging.
• Sealed Air: Global packaging company known for protective and food packaging, including shrink films, stretch films and protective wrapping systems. Comparable product categories (shrink, stretch, protective films) but a much larger, broader portfolio.
• Amcor: Global packaging giant with extensive flexible films, shrink films and sustainable packaging offerings across food and healthcare. Overlaps with Polythene UK on films and bags but operates at significantly broader scale and geography.

Direct peers

• Coveris: Large European packaging converter with a strong UK footprint producing polythene films, stretch films, shrink films and flexible packaging for food, industrial and consumer markets. Directly comparable product portfolio and end-market overlap with Polythene UK.
• Sirane Group: UK-based packaging manufacturer producing flexible films, bags and absorbent/compostable packaging for food, horticulture and industrial markets. Comparable UK specialist film and bag manufacturer with sustainable packaging credentials.
• RKW Group: European manufacturer of PE-based films including stretch films, shrink films and agricultural films serving industrial, agricultural and consumer markets. Directly comparable polyolefin film portfolio to Polythene UK's stretch, shrink and agricultural ranges.
• BPI Packaging (British Polythene Industries / Paladin): UK-based manufacturer of polythene films, bags and packaging products, including recycled-content films for industrial and consumer applications. Closely comparable UK polythene film and bag converter competing for similar customers.
• Klöckner Pentaplast: Specialist film producer focused on polyolefin and barrier films for food, pharmaceutical and industrial packaging. Comparable on flexible films and packaging-grade polyolefins, particularly where certifications and barrier performance matter.
• Polybags Ltd: UK-based specialist manufacturer of polythene bags, films and food packaging supplying retail, industrial and foodservice customers. Closely comparable UK polythene bag and film manufacturer with similar product mix and customer base.
• Manuli Stretch: Specialist manufacturer of stretch film and pallet wrap solutions for industrial packaging, with a strong European presence. Direct overlap on machine and hand stretch films, pallet wrap and pre-stretched film variants.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/polythene_uk
• Facebookfacebook.com/PolytheneUK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/polythene-uk-ltd

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Polythene UK