Finnish packaging company Huhtamaki will invest €11 million to build a new manufacturing facility in Hämeenlinna, Finland, to serve its customers in the Baltic and Nordic countries.
Manufacturing operations will be transferred from the current facility that was built in the 1960s.
Construction work is planned to begin during spring 2018 and the new facility is expected to begin operations in spring 2019. The majority of the investment will take place during 2018.
As part of the investment, the Hämeenlinna unit’s machine base will also be partially renewed and automation increased.
The company said that competitiveness will be improved by designing the new facility according to lean manufacturing principles and improving the flow of goods and minimising unnecessary traffic within production.
Huhtamaki Foodservice Nordics general manager Maisa Katila said: “Today’s busy on-the-go lifestyle increases demand for takeaway foods and drinks. This creates growth opportunities for us, and with the investment we are better able to capture those.
“Hämeenlinna is a good location for our manufacturing unit. We have skilled and experienced employees here and we source our main raw material from nearby. With the new facility we can serve our customers in the Nordic and Baltic countries even better.”
Earlier this year Huhtamaki acquired International Paper’s food service packaging operations in China for €15 million, which consists of two manufacturing units located in Shanghai and Tianjin.
A specialist in packaging for food and drink, Huhtamaki has around 17,600 employees and in 2016 its net sales were €2.9 billion.
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