A German corrugated cardboard manufacturer and a British packaging company are starting to operate a joint production site. In Ellesmere Port near Liverpool in the UK, systems and processes are networked in a so-called „packaging park“.
The two companies have been working together for a long time: Progroup, a large corrugated base paper and corrugated board manufacturer from Landau in the Palatinate, and the British packaging manufacturer Krystals. Despite Brexit and corona, the companies are now moving even closer together. In Ellesmere Port in the UK Progroup and Kristalls have now started operating their new packaging park.
This park combines Progroup's high-tech corrugator with Krystals' specialised packaging production. By networking their production and IT systems, the aim is to significantly increase the flexibility and efficiency of production processes. A transport bridge will be used to transport the corrugated board formats produced by Progroup directly to Krystals' production facilities as and when required. This will make Krystals Progroup's first site-integrated packaging park customer in the UK.
„Despite corona and Brexit, the signs for Progroup in England continue to point to growth. The investment of more than £90 million in the new high-tech corrugated board plant and the packaging park is our long-term commitment to the Ellesmere Port site. And this is already paying off. Compared to the previous year, we will be able to achieve significant double-digit growth in England“
Jürgen Heindl, Chairman of the Management Board of Progroup
Joint packaging park ensures greater sustainability
Progroup has been operating one of the most efficient and high-performance plants in the entire industry in Ellesmere Port, UK, since January 2019 with its PW12 sheet feeder. With a working width of 3.35 metres, the sheet feeder can produce over 200,000 tonnes of corrugated board per year.
The corrugated cardboard, which is delivered to Krystals via the bridge connection, will not require any means of transport or packaging in future. This will save the companies around 1,800 lorry journeys in the coming year alone. „With the packaging park concept, we are achieving a significant reduction in noise and CO2-emissions,“ says Maximilian Heindl, Chief Development Officer and member of the Progroup Management Board.
