Paper and packaging manufacturer Smurfit Kappa is committed to Spain and has announced a plan to double the production capacity of its plant in Ibi (Alicante). These facilities, which manufacture products for the bag-in-box division, will benefit from an investment of 54 million euros. Once completed, the company will create 200 new jobs.

The ultimate goal of the investment is to strengthen the sustainability of the plant's operations and also its product portfolio. To do this, it will equip the plant with improved systems for waste management and to achieve significant savings in terms of energy consumption. The plant already has a recycling system in place that uses state-of-the-art systems to identify and separate by-products.

Single-use solutions
The bag-in-box packaging system is designed to extend the shelf life of liquids and has a low carbon footprint. These are single-use solutions consisting of a pouch inserted into a cardboard box with a tap opening and pouring mechanism. The Irish company claims to be one of the few suppliers to offer the complete system, including filling lines.

The Ibi plant is the company's only plant in Spain specialising in this type of packaging, which is used for agri-food products ranging from wine, milk products and juices to liquid egg, water and oil. It is also used for other non-food liquids, such as motor oil and some chemicals.

90-million euro investment
Smurfit Kappa Europe CEO Saverio Mayer said this investment “demonstrates our commitment to the bag-in-box division and is part of our expansion plan in several countries. We have invested 90 million euros in the Ibi plant over the past decade, which has significantly improved our offering.”

The General Manager of the Smurfit Kappa plant in Ibi, Pascual Martínez, did in turn say, “We are proud to take Ibi to the next level through this investment and to create another 200 jobs for the local economy. We have an extremely talented team that can solve even the most complex challenges. I am excited about the start of this next chapter for Ibi.”

^{Photo: Smurfit Kappa}