Engineered here. Built here. Supported here.
PiP Automation is the trading name of Partners in Packaging Machine Systems Limited, a UK machinery manufacturer based in Greater Manchester. We design and build the denesting, card feeding and lidding systems that keep food packaging lines running.
From industry experience to UK manufacturing
Partners in Packaging was founded in 2000 by Wayne Stevens and Duncan Macintyre in Heywood, North Manchester. The business began as the UK distributor for three leading international manufacturers specialising in tray denesting, friction feeding and top load cartoning systems.
That experience gave us a detailed understanding of the UK fresh and chilled food industry, not just the machinery, but the production challenges our customers face every day.
In 2011, we took the next step and became a manufacturer in our own right, using that knowledge to design and build our own range of denesting, card feeding and lidding systems.
Since then, we have grown to become the leading manufacturer of this type of equipment, supplying many of the country’s largest food manufacturers and developing strong partnerships with other leading equipment manufacturers and OEMs to deliver complete turnkey solutions.
A batch of denesters in build on our factory floor. Every PiP machine is designed, built and tested in house.
A completed line under test before delivery. Machines leave us running, not promising.
Growing, and moving
Continued growth is now taking us from our original Heywood base to a significantly larger premises in Rochdale, while PiP machines are increasingly being supplied to customers around the world.
We are still developing.
Our ongoing R&D programme is taking us into new applications, new packaging materials and new areas of automation. We continue to adopt, adapt and develop new concepts and solutions to solve the production challenges our customers face today, as well as those emerging for tomorrow.
We also work closely with packaging machinery OEMs and system integrators, supplying the specialist denesting, feeding and lidding parts of complete production lines. Read how PiP works with OEMs.
The people behind PiP
PiP is jointly managed by founders Wayne Stevens and Duncan Macintyre, who have worked together for more than 30 years and have known each other since the early 1980s.
Their backgrounds, roles and personalities are very different, but highly complementary. Wayne is responsible for the technical and operational side of PiP, while Duncan leads the customer facing side of the business, including sales, service and customer relationships. Both remain actively involved in the day to day running and future direction of PiP.
Wayne Stevens
Joint Managing Director
Wayne is responsible for engineering, new product development and the internal operation of PiP, from the initial concept through to the finished machine.
He began his career in the packaging industry in 1982, completing a four year engineering apprenticeship on the shop floor before spending a further three years as an apprentice draughtsman, working on a traditional drawing board. Alongside his full time career, he completed two honours degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Business Management.
Wayne went on to become part of the senior design team at Rose Forgrove, part of the Baker Perkins and APV group, before moving into Customer Service Management. In 1995, he joined CAM as Technical Manager, working alongside Duncan, who was Sales Manager. They have worked together ever since, later establishing Partners in Packaging, now PiP Automation.
Today, Wayne oversees PiP’s engineering, design and development, project management, purchasing, administration, production and machine build. He also remains closely involved in the company’s ongoing R&D programme and the development of new automation solutions.
Duncan Macintyre
Joint Managing Director
Duncan leads the commercial and customer facing side of PiP, with responsibility for the sales and service teams and the relationships the company has built with its customers.
He began his career in the packaging industry in the 1970s, serving his apprenticeship in the sales department at Rose Forgrove, part of the Baker Perkins and APV group. After Rose Forgrove, Duncan spent two years with Ilapak before joining CAM, where he became Sales Manager and began working closely with Wayne in 1995.
Together, Duncan and Wayne later established Partners in Packaging, combining Duncan’s commercial and customer experience with Wayne’s engineering and manufacturing background.
Today, Duncan oversees PiP’s sales and service activities and remains closely involved with customers, understanding their production requirements and working with the wider PiP team to develop the right automation solution.
F Series card feeders built as a batch and ready for delivery. Series production of a specialist product.
Every PiP machine starts life on our own CAD systems. The F Series as a SolidWorks model, over its 2D drawings.
Engineering you can look inside
Everything that matters in a PiP machine is engineered by us: the frames, the guarding, the servo drives, the tooling and the change parts. Our machines are designed for high care food environments, built to be washed down, stripped and understood by the engineers who run them.
Because we design and build in house, we can configure proven platforms around your exact packaging, and support every machine we have ever made with parts, tooling and engineering knowledge.
Inside one of our lidding systems. Designed, machined and assembled in house.
Awards, accreditations and memberships
Winner, Innovative Packaging Machinery, Automate UK Awards 2026
For an AS Series denester developed for fibreboard trays, chosen from a shortlist of eleven. Read the announcement.
Shortlisted, British Engineering Excellence Awards.
Quick answers
Who founded PiP Automation?
PiP Automation was founded in 2000 by Wayne Stevens and Duncan Macintyre in Heywood, North Manchester. PiP Automation is the trading name of Partners in Packaging Machine Systems Limited.
Where are PiP machines designed and built?
Every PiP machine is designed and built in our own factory in Greater Manchester, in the north of England. We are a member of Made in Britain, and continued growth is taking us to larger premises in Rochdale.
What does PiP Automation manufacture?
We manufacture tray denesting, card feeding and lidding systems for food manufacturers and packaging lines, along with bespoke automation built on our proven machine platforms. We are the leading manufacturer of this type of equipment, with more than 1,000 machines installed since 2000.
Does PiP supply machines outside the UK?
Yes. Most of our machines run in UK food factories, and PiP machines are increasingly being supplied to customers around the world, both directly and through OEM partners.
Talk to the people who build the machines
When you call PiP, you speak with the engineers and the founders, not a call centre. Tell us about your packaging and we will tell you honestly what will work.