SMURFIT Kappa has revealed completion of ‘significant’ investments in its central and eastern European operations.
The firm has spent more than €20 million in upgrading its manufacturing plants in Olomouc in the Czech Republic and Obaly Štúrovo in Slovakia.
New equipment has been installed to expand capacity and help meet increasing demand for paper-based packaging solutions. Smurfit Kappa said new converting equipment will increase the capacity by over 100 million regular and offset printed boxes annually.
The investments will also enable the business to further target specific industries, including the FMCG and electro-technical sectors.
Group CEO Tony Smurfit and Saverio Mayer, CEO of Smurfit Kappa Europe, recently attended the official unveiling of the upgraded plants during which customers were given a walk-through of the enhanced capabilities and sustainability credentials.
Zdenek Suchitra, CEO of Smurfit central & south-east Europe, said, “I am delighted to announce that both of our investments at the Olomouc (Czech Republic) and Obaly Štúrovo (Slovakia) plants have finished on time and within our original budget in a time when there is a scarcity of all kinds of materials. These investments, along with the investments we made in two additional sites in the Czech Republic, demonstrate our commitment to our customers and operations in Central and Eastern Europe.
“Through these investments, which have created state-of-the-art facilities for our plants, we are excellently positioned to satisfy our well-established customer base, whilst also venturing into the FMCG, eCommerce and electro-technical sectors. We are in a strong position to continue to deliver our high-quality sustainable solutions, as well as a best-in-class efficiency to the market and to be a better place to work for our people.”
