Alun Griffiths

With the Bridgend Paper Mill having been divested by SCA to Northwood & Wepa in May 2013 (as per the European Competition Commission directive), I am now the Senior Purchasing Manager for Northwood & Wepa, which encompasses the Bridgend Paper Mill and satellite office in Bolton. My remit now encompasses all areas of spend, from raw materials to industrial services, large projects to IT contracts. Working closely with the company directors, I am currently in the process of novating agreements/contracts over to the new company, whilst engaging in the movement of computer systems from SAP to INFOR (to be completed by end of March 2014). I now report directly to the Operations Director and have a Purchasing Officer reporting into me. Once this process of setting up a new purchasing team / computer interface has been completed I will be looking to consolidate best practice on site and drive competitive improvements in the mill cost base.

I am the operational purchasing manager for the Bridgend Paper Mill, and am responsible for the procurement of goods and services for the site, either directly (i.e. local agreements) or indirectly (i.e. managing the "globally sourced" contracts on site). I am also responsible for several national areas of procurement (e.g. FLT) as part of the GB&I operational purchasing managers' team.

I assisted the Purchasing Manager at the Bridgend Paper Mill in the operational purchasing arena, and was given the lead for several national and capital projects (including the UK waste management contract in 2003). I was also seconded to the three month MIP project in 2002, and led several of the resulting implementation teams.

I was responsible for setting up new administration systems for the Purchasing function not only at the Bridgend paper mill, but in several satellite sites around the country (e.g. High Wycombe, Grantham). I was also asked to act as a "Junior Buyer" during most of the time in this role, especially in areas such as engineering stores stock procurement.