This month, we are pleased to be celebrating 60 years of Snell.

From our early days to today, we have always been focused on delivering for our customers.

Here’s a look back at some of the key moments in our 60-year history:

The Early Days

Founded in 1965 by Brian Snell, Team Snell consisted of 13 employees and operated out of a small building located on Main Highway, Ellerslie in Auckland.

In 1991, with two young sons, Pat and Gillian Galloway purchased Snell. Many early Snell employees, some of whom still work with us today, speak of Pat’s entrepreneurial streak and credit his grit, passion and hard work for where Snell is today.  

One Branch Becomes Four & Snell China is Established

Pat and Gillian first explored China in 1986 which ultimately resulted in the establishment of the Snell China office over twenty years ago. This presence ensures we have feet on the ground in China which allows us to maintain the quality and compliance level our customers expect. This decision also set us up to continue delivering for our customers during COVID.

Between 1997 and 1999, Snell saw significant growth with the opening of our Christchurch, Wellington and Hamilton branches. Each provided an opportunity to further diversity our business across manufacturing, agricultural and food processing industries.

While our first two branches to open (Christchurch and Wellington) were purchased, the Hamilton branch grew organically. Chris Boden, who held the role of Hamilton Branch Manager for 25 years until his passing in early 2024, was instrumental in the founding and operation of the Hamilton branch.

The Shift from Stationery to Safety

In 2006, we introduced a safety product offering to our business. As a result, we changed our company name from Snell Packaging & Stationery to Snell Packaging & Safety. This served as a change in our business’ focus and trajectory as we recognised our ability to serve the factory floor of our customers’ businesses with products which streamlined their operations and kept their people safe.

Introducing The Snell Specialists

Soon after the introduction of safety products to our range, it became clear that our customers needed access to expertise to aid them in selecting the products best suited to their business operations.

Today, we are pleased to have a range of specialists in house across flexible packaging, safety, pallet wrap, hygiene and machinery who all provide expert guidance to our customers. We have also developed an established network of partners who we are able to leverage our alliances with to deliver for our customers.

The Rise of ESG as a Strategic Imperative

In 2009, we were a packaging company, in an age of increasing consciousness of the environmental impact of such products. The increasing scrutiny around packaging and end of life options caused us to change our thinking regarding how we operate and interact with our customers.

We quickly realised, as did our customers, that making meaningful progress is more complex than simply selecting sustainable product options.

As ESG is ever-changing, we partner with an external sustainability consultancy who guides our in-house experts and cross-functional ESG project teams. This has allowed us to develop our knowledge and expertise so we can provide guidance to our customers through sharing our own learnings.

Protecting our Customers Through Certification & Compliance

In 2010, we achieved HACCP, a certification which focused on the management of food safety-related risk within our facilities. As we recognised the importance of certification to our customers, we went on to achieve ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 14001 (environmental management) in subsequent years.

These achievements laid the foundation of our position today as one of the first warehousing companies in New Zealand to achieve FSSC 22000, a stringent and internationally recognised food safety management certification. For access to our Auckland record, click here. For our Christchurch record, click here. 

Initially, this was an aspirational level of certification for our business. Shortly after making the decision to pursue FSSC 22000, we found several customers would now expect this as the mandatory requirement for supply of products into their businesses. To learn more, click here. 

This achievement reflects a core value which Pat, Gillian, and their sons, Matt and Sam, who are now company directors, have instilled in Team Snell: Never throw the anchor out. This speaks to the importance of never resting on our laurels and consistently challenging ourselves to achieve more for our customers.

A Word from Pat Galloway, Snell Owner & Chairman of the Board

“To our customers, suppliers, employees (past and present) and the many other people who have been a part of the evolution of Snell, thank you. Your support has helped us to shape the business to what it is today – packaging and safety’s trusted advisors to some of New Zealand’s largest businesses. 

I'm so proud of what we have all achieved together and I look forward to many more years of mutual success".