Coldstore specialist The P&M Group is partnering up with recycling expert Allstone.

The two Gloucester-based firms - P&M are based in Llanthony Business Park and Allstone is on Myers Road - have agreed a deal which will see Allstone managing waste recycling for P&M in its projects across the UK.

Andy Moon, Chairman of The P&M Group, said the move between the two Gloucester firms can be seen as a significant step in P&M's sustainability journey. It marks the conclusion of a search for a recycling partner, he told Punchline, who could be trusted to share the same ambition for quality and sustainability.

Allstone occupies nine acres of land at Myers Road, operating a large aggregates recycling facility and waste transfer station, as well as its own Speedy Skips hire company.

Mr Moon added: "It was important that we selected a partner who shared our values for quality of service and which was serious about sustainability.

"The fact that Allstone was local to our headquarters was of course convenient, given we were able to meet the team in person and see the impressive scale of their operation and their attention to detail.

"We have been convinced about their insistence on quality throughout their network of partners around the UK and are looking forward to a long-lasting relationship."

Alongside its major division ISD Solutions, The P&M Group includes PLG Insulations, doors and metal fabricator QuayTherm Manufacturing, a division in Australia and Midlands-based installations specialists S Tysoe Installations . Together, the companies employ more than 190 staff, with a combined turnover of around £70m. The P&M Group also includes Gloucester composite panel experts ISD Solutions.

Like The P&M Group, Allstone is a family-owned business and it has been trading in Gloucestershire for nearly 40 years, with the Myers Road site being operational since 1997. 

The company has invested heavily in its plant, vehicles and people as well as its ability to provide detailed reports for customers who need statistics regarding their recycling performance.

In the last calendar year, The P&M Group saw 33.8 tonnes of waste processed by Allstone, with all but 57 kilogrammes of that waste being recycled or sent for energy production.

Simon Ford, managing director at Allstone, said: "We are trying to create a sustainable, carbon-neutral, future-proof business - one where we lead rather than follow other people. That's the vision and we're quite far down the process with it.

"It's clear that The P&M Group are our exact equivalent in their own sector, leading by example and playing their part in changing the culture of an industry which can lag behind.

"We need to educate our customers about quality of sustainable products, to get away from a culture where price is everything, towards those who are running their businesses properly and do things correctly. So we're proud to be associated with such a forward-thinking company."

Late last year, The P&M Group launched Project Acorn, to further improve its sustainability performance throughout its operations and supply chain. Following an holistic review, the group are already implementing recommendations identified in its long term roadmap.

Joanne Moore, group sustainability manager at The P & M Group, said: "One of the steps we are taking as part of our sustainability strategy is to develop a quantifiable Waste Reduction Plan, so we can see exactly where our waste is going throughout the various processes that our divisional companies implement.

"I'm delighted that we have a local, committed partner to support us with this, who understands the journey we have undertaken and is keen to make a difference in our sector and more broadly. We have already set a high bar in terms of our goals around waste performance but we can strive to do better in our own operations and by supporting our collaborators to do the same."