Figaro sponsor for Conrad Humphreys

DMS packagers come aboard to support British solo sailor

DMS, one of the UK’s leading CD, DVD, Vinyl and Plastic Free Packaging suppliers is to become the title sponsor for Conrad Humphreys' Figaro campaign. The partnership with DMS builds on from the success of their sponsorship with another West Country sailor Pete Goss, who competed in last year’s Route du Rhum.

The relationship between DMS and Humphreys began in 2005 when they manufactured his DVD Against the Odds, the story of Humphrey’s 2004-5 Vendée Globe. Today’s announcement gives a welcome boost to Humphreys’ return to singlehanded sailing as he builds a new five year campaign towards the Vendée Globe.

Humphreys, a triple round the world sailor, who competed in the Whitbread Round the World Race (now Volvo Ocean Race) was the youngest skipper to win the BT Global Challenge and only the fifth Briton in history to complete the Vendée Globe. 2011 marks his return to singlehanded sailing after a number of seasons racing catamarans in the Archipelago Raid and the Extreme 40 Series.

In recent years, sailing has become a strong channel for communicating environmental concerns and DMS will be continuing its work with Julies Bicycle and their Industry Green (IG) certification for CD/DVD packaging to highlight the need for plastic packaging reduction. DMS will eliminate all plastic from their product range by 2012 and together with IG’s founder, Alison Tickell is calling on the creative industry to do the same.

Humphreys, who is looking to secure a new global partner to build a winning campaign for the Vendée Globe is in France this week to race the Solo Concarneau as part of his preparation for this year's Solitaire du Figaro, said: “I’m really pleased to be racing under the colours of DMS and their Pack It In! Plastic Free Packaging branding. To have secured their backing at this early stage in our campaign will give me a great chance to fight hard on the water. I’m also very happy to use our campaign to highlight the need for greater regulation of the use of plastics, much of which ends up in our oceans, something I care passionately about.”

Dave Summers, Managing Director, DMS added: “We are pleased to continue supporting Conrad and his team after the huge success we shared with Pete Goss and the Route du Rhum. Conrad’s approach to sailing and the environment fits very well with our own approach and we are pleased to support his goal towards the next Vendée Globe.

“Over the past decade we have built up a global business that now produces more than 3000 individual releases per year from rock bands through to multinational blue-chip companies. This results in millions of individual discs and packaging units, which up until 2008 we manufactured in 90% plastic.”

Since 2008 DMS have offered a full range of low-carbon creative packaging solutions which have become increasingly popular with both their clients and the end user. Summers continued: “Currently, only 10% of our total packaging output contains plastic and we’re aiming to eliminate all plastic packaging by 2012.”

Alison Tickell Director, Julie's Bicycle and Industry Green said: “Our seas are precious ecosystems that we are filling with plastic and the support of Conrad and Dave Summers from DMS is helping galvanise the music industry to rid itself of plastic packaging. Conrad's boat which carries the IG logo is an inspiring metaphor for environmental concern.”

See our interview with Conrad Humphreys here