THE Dungannon plastics firm behind the trendy High quality Avenue field has introduced a £10 million growth programme as a part of its objective of changing into a £100m operation within the subsequent three years.
The announcement by Greiner Packaging on Tuesday got here as the corporate, previously often called Wilsanco, marked 50 years in enterprise in Co Tyrone.
Whereas it has a comparatively low profile in Northern Eire, Greiner’s merchandise for the dairy, meals and confectionary trade are in most retailers and houses throughout the nation.
It manufactures round 5 million plastic pots per day in Dungannon for main dairy producers together with Dale Farm, Yeo Valley, Arla and Irish Yogurts.
It additionally makes soup, noodle and porridge pots and yearly, manufactures round 18 million High quality Avenue containers for Nestlé.
A part of the family-owned Greiner AG, which is predicated in Austria, the packaging firm has invested £35m in Dungannon since buying the enterprise from the Wilson household in 2006.
Then a £15m a 12 months enterprise, Greiner Packaging UK is now producing near £60m a 12 months, using 320 folks.
Though a significant international operation spanning 39 international locations and with a workforce of 11,000 folks, Greiner AG stays 100 per cent family-owned. Since 2010, a four-person household council has represented the pursuits of the Greiner household.
On Tuesday, the 4 member Greiner Household Council visited its Dungannon website to plant 5 bushes to mark its fiftieth anniversary.
Greiner’s packaging division stays a key a part of the group, using 4,000 folks, with Dungannon the bottom for its UK packaging enterprise.
Jarek Zasadzinski is operations director at Greiner Packaging Worldwide, however he has been intently concerned with the Dungannon website since 2006.
Discussing the group’s long-term dedication to Co Tyrone, he stated: “Proper now, even post-Brexit, it’s the most effective of two worlds for us. Northern Eire is in a really particular political state of affairs proper now.
“As a part of the Northern Eire Protocol we’ve one leg within the EU and the opposite leg in GB, which remains to be a very good factor for us.
“From a location viewpoint, we’re form of center of the UK, regardless that we’re on the facet. However it’s cheaper for us to load and ship from right here to London than from Manchester to London. As a result of Northern Eire is a internet importer of products and we’re again loading all the things to the UK mainland.”
The Polish native stated the 50-year reference to Co Tyrone has created a robust native abilities base, which the corporate continues to develop by way of apprenticeships.
Mr Zasadzinski stated the £10m funding is predicted to kick off subsequent 12 months with the growth of the manufacturing unit’s manufacturing corridor.
It’ll lead to elevated productiveness, however the firm additionally continues to take a position closely in innovation, notably round repurposing recycled plastic again into its product strains.
Final 12 months noticed Greiner pump £3.7m into a brand new Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) decontamination system in Dungannon, that enables recycled client plastics to be returned to be used in meals contact supplies.
Demand for plastic packaging with recycled content material is at an all-time excessive for the reason that UK’s plastic packaging tax got here into drive in April. It locations a levy on packaging that comprises lower than 30 per cent recycled content material.
Greiner’s innovation within the round economic system has additionally resulted in a system the place power produced from its manufacturing course of is transferred to warmth the neighbouring Dungannon Built-in Faculty, saving hundreds of litres in heating oil every year.
Do you know the containers for High quality Avenue are made in Dungannon? See tomorrow’s @irish_news the place we’ll be Greiner Packaging’s huge plans for its Co Tyrone operation. pic.twitter.com/HjEbs2K6qj
— Ryan McAleer (@RyanMcAleerbiz) October 11, 2022
