Durham Box continues growth with senior operations appointment

Packaging Solutions

Durham Box has appointed Dean Milburn as operations manager. The move highlights the company’s commitment to operational excellence, continuous improvement and developing its people, while supporting continued business growth.

Reporting to general manager Percy Sowden, Dean will lead the company's operational strategy, with responsibility for safety, people, delivery, cost and continuous improvement across the business.

Bringing more than 35 years of manufacturing and operational leadership experience across multiple sectors, Dean began his career in the automotive industry, spending a decade as a team leader before moving into production management with Filtrona, where he also led design operations. He later became a UK Lean Six Sigma manager at Intersnack, driving process improvement programmes, delivering cost savings and training operational teams through to black belt level.

His career has since included senior manufacturing and operations leadership roles with Smurfit, an operations director position in the oil and gas sector, and, most recently, head of manufacturing development for UK and Ireland at VPK, where he worked with multiple sites to standardise operational best practices across the business.

Commenting on his appointment, Dean said: ‘Durham Box presented a fantastic opportunity to join a successful local business that continues to grow year after year, while also benefiting from being part of a larger group. I already knew several members of the team, understood the ambition of the business and was impressed by the openness and honesty around where the company is today and where it wants to be.

‘I am looking forward to sharing my experience, helping develop the people within the business and supporting Durham Box as it continues to grow and strengthen its operational performance.’

Percy Sowden added, ‘Dean brings an exceptional breadth of operational experience and a proven track record of delivering continuous improvement across a range of manufacturing sectors. His expertise in operational excellence, Lean Six Sigma and developing high performing teams will play an important role as we continue to invest in our people, processes and future growth. We're delighted to welcome him to Durham Box.’