U K
B U S I N E S S
P A R K
home page


Packaging 2002
2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996

The information below comes from the UK Activity Report.
Click here for further details

Werit of Germany is planning to open a new £5m plastic containers factory on the Northbank Industrial Park in Salford early next year, with the creation of up to 75 jobs. 24-Dec-2002 AGI Media Packaging is to close its CD printing plant in Swindon with the loss of up to 50 jobs. 24-Dec-2002 Cradley Group is to shed 50 jobs, in order to improve efficiency at its West Midlands-based printing business. 20-Dec-2002 Watt & Gilchrist of Leeds has split into two businesses, with Gilchrist providing print and packaging technology and Watt specialising in design packaging. 19-Dec-2002 De La Rue has been selected as preferred bidder for a seven-year contract to print British banknotes, which will involve the acquisition of the Bank of England's printing operations in Debden, Essex. 18-Dec-2002 Alumasc is to close its beer barrel factory in Burton upon Trent with the loss of 63 jobs. 17-Dec-2002 Hyway Printing of London is to close with the loss of 30 jobs, as new owner Montrose Press has transferred production to its larger Chelmsford factory. 10-Dec-2002 St Ives Burrups is to shed 24 jobs at its financial printing business in London. 10-Dec-2002 G-Plas has acquired additional premises and development land to extend its PVC films manufacturing operation in Crumlin, as part of a strategy to double in size over the next two years. 10-Dec-2002 Jarrold Printing is to shed a further 59 jobs at its printing works in Norwich. 04-Dec-2002 Inveresk, the paper maker, is to raise £5m in a share issue and shed some of the 25 staff at its Stirlingshire head office, in order to reduce debts. 25-Nov-2002 William Clowes is considering plans to relocate its book printing business and 180 staff from Beccles to a new site in Lowestoft. 19-Nov-2002 Frank Peters is to shed 25 of the 81 jobs at its South Lakeland printing business. 06-Nov-2002 Crown Food Europe is considering plans to close the Carnaud Metalbox metal packaging factory in Westhoughton with the loss of 125 jobs. 05-Nov-2002 Inveresk, the papermaker, is to sell Caldwells Mill in Fife to major shareholder Klippan, in order to raise £2m for working capital requirements. 31-Oct-2002 Thomas Potts is to close its Premier Metropolis printworks in east London and centralise all printing in Harlow next year, as part of a reorganisation that will create two divisions - print production and print management. 29-Oct-2002 Mundet UK, the converter of cigarette filter papers, has been acquired by Trierenberg of Austria, and its factory in Glossop is now planning to double capacity. 16-Oct-2002 Bishops Printers is setting up a new £1.5m headquarters for its printing business in Portsmouth, and expects to create 15 new jobs next year. 16-Oct-2002 United Glass is to invest £23m in the modernisation of its bottle manufacturing plant in Alloa over the next three years. 15-Oct-2002 Sonoco is to reorganise its tube packaging facilities in the UK, with the closure of its Leek plant and the downsizing of its Brechin plant. 08-Oct-2002 Promotional Packaging is planning to create a further 50 jobs at its new contract packing site in Lincoln. 30-Sep-2002 Kimberly Clark is seeking planning permission for a £25m investment at its paper mill in Barrow, which will involve the installation of extra drying equipment. 24-Sep-2002 De La Rue is to close its security products printing facility in High Wycombe with the loss of up to 350 jobs, in order to focus production on sites in Peterborough, Dunstable, Kenya and the US. 23-Sep-2002 Tarsus is to acquire the BPC bottling, packaging and canning exhibition from Binsted Group for up to £2m. 19-Sep-2002 Huhtamaki is to shed 50 of the 480 jobs at its packaging factory in Gosport. 19-Sep-2002 Ormolu Group is planning to relocate its Trafford Press printing business in Manchester to a new site nearby over the next few months. 17-Sep-2002 LPC, the Leicester-based tissue manufacturer, has acquired a Swedish paper mill with 130 staff from Duni Group for undisclosed terms. 10-Sep-2002 Molins is looking to spend up to £20m on acquisitions to expand its packaging machinery business. 04-Sep-2002 Rexam is looking to spend up to £100m a year on acquisitions to expand its consumer packaging business, and is particularly interested in plastics and the European glass market. 30-Aug-2002 Optecon, the printing and direct mail company, is to create about 140 jobs at its new 85,000 sq ft headquarters in Leicester. 20-Aug-2002 Paper Converting Machine Company, the US-owned supplier paper processing machinery, is planning to close its manufacturing operations in Plymouth with the loss of up 200 jobs. 20-Aug-2002 Teich Packaging is planning to close its flexible packaging plant in Derby by June 2003, with the loss of 128 jobs. 23-Jul-2002 Mastermailer, the developer of a new stationery system that eliminates the need for envelopes, is planning to create up to 40 jobs at its new £2m manufacturing and administrative headquarters in Caerphilly. 23-Jul-2002 Rexam is to invest £40m in two new beverage can-making lines at sites in Naro Fominsk, Russia, and La Selva, Spain. 22-Jul-2002 Sykes Europe is to shed about 30 of the 170 jobs at its software packing business in Galashiels. 12-Jul-2002 Guiton Group is to close its paperback printing operation in Guernsey with the loss of up to 20 jobs, having failed to find a buyer for the business. 09-Jul-2002 Pactiv Europe is to close its thermoforming operation in Caerphilly later this year, in order to consolidate production at its sites in Livingston and Stanley. 18-Jun-2002 Decorative Sleeves, the manufacturer of shrink sleeve labels, is to relocate its Wakefield factory and 54 jobs to Pioneer Park, as part of a multi-million pound investment programme that will also involve the expansion of its Norfolk site. 10-Jun-2002 Willett International, the coding and labelling company, is planning to relocate its CIJ manufacturing operation from Corby to Asia over the next 12 months, while the research and development centre will move from Corby to Cambridge. 04-Jun-2002 Servicetoken, the manufacturer of paint packaging products, is buying the Akzo Nobel paint factory in Haltwhistle, and plans to double its workforce from 30 to 60 and create a trading estate and interactive arts centre on the site. 04-Jun-2002 SCA Hygiene is to shed 39 of the 370 jobs at its paper mill in Prudhoe, Northumberland. 03-Jun-2002 DS Smith Packaging has set up a new sheet plant group to manage 14 corrugated packaging sites across the country, following last year's acquisition of a number of Danisco Pack plants. 24-May-2002 CBX Couriers is setting up a new contract packing company in Derby called Octopus Collation Solutions, and requires 20 seasonal staff. 24-May-2002 USC Europe is closing its can printing factory in west London with the loss of about 140 jobs, in order to relocate the work and 28 staff to its site in Merthyr Tydfil. 14-May-2002 Print City is to relocate its printing business and up to 30 staff from Huddersfield to a larger 12,000 sq ft building at the Zenith Business Park in Barnsley in July. 14-May-2002 DS Smith Packaging is to close its Carlisle factory and transfer 25 staff to a site in Lockerbie. 06-May-2002 Inveresk has announced plans to close its lossmaking label paper business at Westfield Mill, near Bathgate, with the loss of 152 jobs. 24-Apr-2002 Stora Enso is to close its Papyrus GB paper merchanting division, which includes sites in Waltham Cross, Rugby, Leeds and Bristol, with the loss of 200 jobs. 16-Apr-2002 Field Group is to close its food and household carton plant in Congleton, with the loss of up to 125 jobs. 16-Apr-2002 Irish Bonding Company is to invest £9m in a new bottling plant for Guinness and other Diageo drinks at Marshalls Road in Belfast. 28-Mar-2002 Amcor Flexibles Europe is planning to buy two Rexam flexible packaging plants at Ledbury and Thetford for £18m. 25-Mar-2002 Wastepack Group has acquired Difpak, the packaging waste compliance scheme with 170 members, from the Dairy Industry Federation. 25-Mar-2002 Lawson Mardon has announced plans to invest £5m at its packaging factory in Workington, including the installation of a new printing press. 20-Mar-2002 United Glass is investing £1.2m in improvements at its glass recycling and processing plant in Kelliebank, Alloa. 19-Mar-2002 International Greetings has acquired a 500,000 sq ft production and distribution centre in Hirwaun, South Wales, in order to expand its Scandinavian Design gift wrap business. 18-Mar-2002 DS Smith is planning to shed between 20 and 100 jobs at its John Dickinson envelopes factory in Sawston, Cambridgeshire. 18-Mar-2002 Printpack is planning to shed up to 30 jobs at its flexographic business in Saffron Walden. 15-Mar-2002 OCE, the printing company, is planning to build a new UK head office complex for about 400 staff at Langston Road in Loughton over the next 18 months, subject to agreement over the purchase of land from Epping Forest Council. 14-Mar-2002 Jubb is creating 50 new jobs at its plastic bottles factory in Leicestershire, due to the increased workload resulting from the recent acquisition of Barclay Stuart Plastics. 14-Mar-2002 Rexam is to sell its 70% stake in Rexam Combibloc, the Houghton le Spring-based liquid carton business, to joint venture partner SIG Group of Switzerland. 12-Mar-2002 Rolls-Royce is considering plans to sell Sawley Packaging, the Derby-based containers subsidiary with 130 staff. 05-Mar-2002 Inveresk has sold its de-inking plant at Kilbagie Mills, Alloa, to Kilbagie Recycled Fibres for £1.8m, which will involve the transfer of 22 staff. 04-Mar-2002 Decorative Sleeves is planning to expand its display packaging plant in King's Lynn by 20,000 sq ft this year, and the 200-strong workforce is likely to rise slightly over the next few years. 01-Mar-2002 International Paper is to shed 80 jobs at its paper mill in Inverurie, in order to improve the site's competitiveness. 28-Feb-2002 Robquest, the Ashford-based printing company, has gone into liquidation with the loss of 45 jobs. 26-Feb-2002 Polestar, the printing company, is to relocate its head office from central London to an 11,000 sq ft office in Milton Keynes in May. 26-Feb-2002 Swan Innovations has shed all 34 jobs at its print and packaging business in Corby, following its move into liquidation. 25-Feb-2002 Low & Bonar is planning to expand its speciality materials business by spending up to £100m on a series of acquisitions this year. 21-Feb-2002 Smurfit Corrugated is planning to close its packaging plant in Warrington in April, with the loss of 94 jobs. 20-Feb-2002 The Welsh Development Agency has announced that 10 new jobs are being created by Industrial Plastic Recyclers of Knighton, Powys, in order to convert plastic products into pellets for manufacturers. 19-Feb-2002 Walsall Security Printers is to shed 25 of the 100 jobs at its self-adhesive stamps factory in Walsall. 13-Feb-2002 The Bank of England is considering plans to privatise the printing of banknotes, which would involve a private company taking over the management of its high-security site in Debden, Essex. 11-Feb-2002 Barony Universal has announced a £2m expansion at its aerosols supply business in Ayrshire, with the creation of 30 jobs. 05-Feb-2002 St Ives is to close its magazine printing factory at Gillingham in Kent with the loss of 210 jobs, and the work will be transferred to sites in Plymouth, Andover and Peterborough. 04-Feb-2002 ENVY of Mid-Glamorgan is launching its packaging film waste recovery service into South Wales, and is also looking into the possibility of setting up kerbside collection schemes and extending the service to other parts of the UK. 01-Feb-2002 William Caple is to relocate its printing business from Leicester to sister company Southam FM in Warwickshire in February, which will involve the transfer of 40 jobs and the loss of a further 20 jobs. 31-Jan-2002 Plastek is to invest £1m expanding production at its plastic crates factory in Clydach Vale, with the creation of 55 jobs over the next four years. 30-Jan-2002 Cradley Print is to close its manual printing department in Cradley Heath with the loss of 25 jobs, and a further 65 jobs will be lost in other departments. 30-Jan-2002 Betts is to create 50 jobs at its consumer packaging plant in Colchester, having decided to relocate its injection moulding business from Wrexham. 22-Jan-2002 Graham Packaging is planning to close its plastic bottles plant at Gwersyllt in north Wales in April, with the loss of 67 jobs. 22-Jan-2002 Oakhill is to close its Speedprint operation in Leeds with the loss of 50 jobs, in order to combine its commercial printing activities onto one site in Colchester. 16-Jan-2002 Field Group has confirmed plans to close its carton manufacturing operation in Edinburgh with the loss of 120 jobs, in order to consolidate the business at its East Kilbride site. 16-Jan-2002 Shotton Paper is to invest £77m in a new fibre pulp facility at its Deeside-based paper recycling plant, which will secure 500 jobs. 16-Jan-2002 Macfarlane is to shed 90 of the 274 jobs at its packaging plants in Glasgow. 14-Jan-2002 De La Rue is to shed 60 of the 440 jobs at its security printing works in High Wycombe. 08-Jan-2002 Polestar Greaves is to shed about 80 jobs in Scarborough, having lost the contract to print The Guardian's weekend magazine. 08-Jan-2002 St Ives is to shed a further 125 jobs at its printing business in Leeds, and its Red Letter division will transfer from Bradford to Leeds. 08-Jan-2002 Sealed Air is to close its protective packaging factory in Witham in January with the loss of 33 jobs, in order to relocate the business to a larger site in Kettering. 04-Jan-2002 Anglo American is planning to expand its Mondi International box-making division through the £234m acquisition of French forest products group La Rochette. 03-Jan-2002 The information below comes from the UK Activity Report. Click here for further details Copyright UK Business Park 1995-2007