London’s oldest canmaker, P. Wilkinson Containers, celebrates 50 year partnership with transportation company Val Carriers

Val Carriers, a well-established transportation company based in Kent, takes pride in its longstanding collaboration with P. Wilkinson Containers, providing reliable UK shipping services since 1971.  

Image: Left to right, Dave O’Rourke & Darren O’Rourke   

Val Carriers, a well-established Kent-based transportation company, is proud of its longstanding they have successfully supported P. Wilkinson Containers with UK shipping since 1971.  

A key asset to the P. Wilkinson Containers and William Say courier system, Val Carriers initially began assisting with select deliveries in 1971.  

This partnership flourished as Denis Wilkinson, key second-generation owner of P. Wilkinson Containers, offered Dave O’Rourke a permanent position to become the sole transportation supplier for the Bermondsey-based factory. 

In a parallel trajectory, Val Carriers, like P. Wilkinson Containers, transitioned into a family-run business, with Dave’s son Darren taking ownership of the company in 2021.   

Dave O’Rourke expressed his deep sense of pride in their longstanding relationship with the company: “I am proud to have a long and happy association with Wilkinson Containers and the team, after all these years we have become like family. 

“P. Wilkinson Containers’ fleet of vehicles span from van size to large high-sided HGVs. Our network of vehicles and overflow carriers cover the whole of the UK allowing us to economically offer products from stock within 5 working days.” 

Stuart Wilkinson, Sales and Marketing Director at William Say and its sister packaging stockist, P. Wilkinson Containers, commented: “This partnership has been instrumental in delivering our products efficiently to our customers nationwide. At P. Wilkinson Containers, as a family-owned and run business for over 90 years, we are proud to have such close relations with our suppliers.” 

(L-R The most recent lorry on the left with one of the first on the right, pictured with Denis Wilkinson, Dave O’Rourke with a P. Wilkinson Containers Lorry)

About P. Wilkinson Containers Ltd. and William Say & Co. Ltd.   

Wilkinson Containers Ltd is now one of the largest manufacturers & stockists of metal and plastic containers in the UK, offering packaging solutions from 50ml right up to 220L containers.

The company operates from its three-acre site (130,000sq ft) in central London, and its transport fleet covers the whole of the UK. The fourth-generation family business is proudly 100% owned and operated by the Wilkinson family.

Wilkinson Containers sister company, William Say & Co., is the last independently owned can maker in the City of London.