Dick Searle, Founder and Co-CEO of The Packaging Federation, has been honoured by the UK packaging industry with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The award was presented to Dick on the final day of London Packaging Week, October 16, at ExCeL London, where attendance and exhibitor satisfaction exceeded all expectations.
Josh Brooks, Divisional Director - Packaging Portfolio at Easyfairs, said, “I can think of nobody more worthy of this lifetime achievement honour than Dick Searle. Over the past two decades, both in my former life as Editor of Packaging News and in my current role, Dick has never failed to deliver clear and penetrating analysis of the industry’s challenges and issues.”
Josh added, “The longevity and uniqueness of The Packaging Federation stand as testament to Dick’s passion for a unified packaging industry that speaks with a singular and strong voice. Whenever packaging has stood in need of a champion and defender, The Packaging Federation has unhesitatingly answered the call.”
In accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award, Dick said, “The future of our packaging industry is critical to the good health of our country and our society. Packaging is a major UK manufacturing sector, employing over 80,000 people and generating sales of more than £14 billion.
“The good that we do in preserving goods and securing supply chains too often goes unsung, and recent decades have sadly seen us unfairly scapegoated for the many and various woes of the consumer society. But we’re still standing – innovating and creating prosperity. Packaging is a business like any other: treat us fairly, and we guarantee to go on making life better for all.”
The Packaging Federation is currently re-forming its All-Party Parliamentary Group under the chairmanship of Chris Bloore, MP for Redditch.
From September this year, Dick has been joined at the helm by Co-CEO Martin Kersh. An ambitious programme of renewal and expansion is planned for 2026, focused on training, innovation, young people, and a wide range of initiatives and task forces related to packaging and the environment.