Smurfit Kappa’s packaging plant in Mold to become UK’s largest

Smurfit Kappa has appointed Warrington-based Caddick Construction deliver a 14,500 sq m factory extension at its plant in Mold, making the North Wales site the largest integrated corrugated plant in the UK.

The Flintshire factory makes shelf ready packaging for the retail sector, along with other streams of packaging for the food and beverage, e-commerce, industrial, health, beauty, and agricultural sectors.

Ben Edwards, contracts manager at Caddick Construction, said: “The expansion will deliver the largest box factory in the company and the Caddick Construction team look forward to helping Smurfit Kappa achieve its growth and sustainability aims.

“The project will create new local employment opportunities and deliver a high quality facility. As part of our commitment to generating local jobs, skills and training opportunities, we will use a local supply chain where possible, as well as implementing a number of social value initiatives during the coming year.”

The building is set to complete in summer 2022 with new production capacity phased between then and early 2023.

The extension is a major  part of the firm’s  €40 million investment to expand capacity at the Mold plant, and is designed to help Smurfit Kappa meet the growing demand for sustainable packaging. The state-of-the-art equipment being installed will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 15% per tonne.

Smurfit Kappa UK and Ireland CEO, Eddie Fellows, said: “This investment in North Wales will increase our capability, flexibility and speed of response to deliver unrivalled innovative packaging solutions to customers across the UK and Ireland. We are determined to meet the future needs of our customers in a sustainable way. It is vital that our investment has benefits for the local community and the environment.”