Karen Drinkwater re-elected as BPF president

At the British Plastics Federation’s Council and annual general meeting, Karen Drinkwater, a founding director of JSC Rotational Limited, was re-elected as the BPF President to serve for a second year. The same event saw Nigel Flowers, managing director of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag, elected as vice president.

Key appointments at the trade association are voted upon by members of the BPF Council, who were in attendance. The BPF’s healthy growth and solid financial basis was reported at the meeting, with the trade association welcoming 43 new members in 2021.

Karen Drinkwater chaired the BPF’s Rotational Moulding Group for many years before she was elected BPF president. Starting the second year of her tenure, she was thanked by BPF Director General Philip Law for her continued insights and guidance during challenging and uncertain times. In her report to the BPF’s members, she recounted highlights from the previous year, mentioning the well-attended parliamentary reception, held in November 2021, at which she met and discussed core issues with the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Lee Rowley MP.

Karen’s speech also mentioned the compounded issues the plastics industry faces including bouncing back from the coronavirus, increased energy costs, supply chain issues and securing staff. Thanking the council and BPF staff for their support, she stated: “We still face many challenges - but by working together, the UK plastics industry will seize the opportunities and continue to excel”.

The newly-voted-in vice president of the BPF, Nigel Flowers, has been the managing director of Sumitomo Demag since 2006. Nigel is a strong supporter of education and skills, was a trustee of Aylesbury Training Group from 2012 to 2016, is a member of the BPF Education & Skills Committee and is also an ‘enterprise advisor’ to a local secondary school, linking education to work. Nigel also represents the BSi on both CEN and ISO Committees, developing technical safety standards for manufacturing plastics production equipment.