VPK Group news

Rigid Containers completes 8 million EUR investment in Limerick, Ireland, and announces plans to increase workforce by 30% in the next two years. The announcement wasmade last week during the official opening of two major extensions and the launch of new state of the art conversion equipment.

 Norway -- Peterson, one of the leading players in the Scandinavian packaging industry, announces the construction of a new Norwegian flagship production site in Halden. Operations currently located in Sarpsborg city centre, adjacent municipality to Halden, will be transferred to the new site.

France -- As of the 1st of June, VPK's French subsidiary Ondulys welcomes two new factories in its packaging network.

We are delighted to report a significant investment project for our production facility in Limerick, Ireland. The project will see the expansion of the site, as well as installation of some new conversion equipment. Both elements of the project are planned to be complete by the end of March.

The announced investments in the Peterson Scandinavian packaging division are currently being rolled out in full. The EUR 25 million investment plan is aimed at upgrading machinery, increase productivity and extend quality standards for customers in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

VPK Packaging Group has announced investment in a 30% stake of CorrBoard UK, the privately owned corrugated sheet manufacturer located in North Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, by capital increase and acquisition of Corrugated Synergies International's stake in the consortium.

VPK's Paper Machine 6 in Oudegem has undergone an extensive upgrade. Stock preparation, production speed and the winder have all been updated, resulting in lots of benefits for Belgian paper production.

Six months after the acquisition of Peterson by VPK Packaging Group, Klingele and VPK have announced that they will join forces to continue investing in the Scandinavian business unit.

The VPK site in Raamsdonksveer (NL) has undergone a complete remake. Responding to growing customer demand, EUR 20 million has been invested to improve both the quality and capacity of our corrugated packaging. A brand new corrugator and an additional boxmaker were already brought into use last year. In April, the die-cutting capacity will be further increased as well.

An ambitious energy project is being launched at Blue Paper in Strasbourg. Building a power plant to convert its own residual materials into energy will contribute toa more sustainable paper factory that consumes 80% less natural gas and manages its residual fractions more efficiently, therefore assuring a more competitive position for the future.