Packaging specialist Solidus has unveiled a £6million investment and expansion package to further develop and grow all areas of its UK business, a 50:50 split between new plant and machinery and the company’s expanding property portfolio.
It also heralds a new era for Solidus with the inception of a standalone ‘one-stop’ UK business model incorporating the head office in Skipton, North Yorkshire, an existing production unit in Corby, Northants, and impending launch of a brand-new facility in Northern Ireland.
The escalation of operations is also core to the evolution of Netherlands-based parent company Solidus Solutions, one of the oldest cardboard manufacturers in Europe, which cemented its UK presence in 2018 when acquiring a majority stake in Skipton-based Northern Paper Board, established in 1979 by brothers John and Paul Curran, with John continuing to lead the company under the ownership of Solidus.
Major across-the-board investment is already in place at both Skipton and Corby. The latest extension at the six-acre edge-of-town North Yorkshire HQ was completed last year, with further expansion planned in 2025 that will double the size of the current 70,000 sq ft facility, while a 35,000sq ft property extension at Corby was completed in July last year, increasing its footprint to 170,000 sq ft. The current workforce stands at circa 150, split 50:50 across the two trading sites.
The new 25-30,000sq ft Northern Ireland site located in Armagh is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2025 and, being close to the border, will service planned expansion across the whole of the Irish market. It will employ up to five people initially.
Investment in new state-of-the-art machinery remains key for the business going forward. New installations now operational at Skipton comprise die-cutters, folder gluers and robot feeders, two top seal punnet machines and, most recently, a Koenig & Bauer (KBA) printer and a laminator, while in Corby the facility has been enhanced with three punnet machines and a Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) line.
New product development is also crucial, as Solidus bids to extend its reach across an already fast-expanding UK customer base, incorporating the meat, poultry, seafood, fruit and veg sectors, both retail and wholesale.
All Solidus products are fully recyclable and purpose-designed to provide a sustainable alternative to replace plastic and polystyrene trays and wooden containers. Circular paper-based packaging and solid board product ranges include meat, poultry, fish, seafood, fruit and veg, boxes, trays and punnets.
Core products have now been supplemented by a recently introduced range of retail-ready packaging known as ‘Futureline,’ purposely created for the retail and foodservice sectors. They, too, are fully recyclable, reduce plastic content by at least 80% and have a significantly lower CO2 footprint. Crucial to this innovative portfolio are MAP (modified atmospheric packaging) products, skin packs, fish boards and an expanding range of standard and top seal punnets.
Spearheading future growth strategy is recently appointed director of sales, Paul Garstang, who arrives with 25-plus years’ experience and a proven track record across multiple market sectors.
He is currently in the process of doubling the size of the sales and customer service team with six new appointments to support business growth plans and new capabilities made in 2024, a further four planned for 2025. A new UK design team, including a graphic designer, is now in place at the Skipton head office to maximise the benefits of the KBA printer. It equips Solidus UK with the ability to provide in-house design from concept to finished product, plate manufacturing and finger print proofing technology – a development seen as a critical step in optimising the site’s production capabilities.
Garstang comments: “2025 effectively represents the launch of the standalone Solidus UK ‘one-stop-shop’ business unit, a keynote investment in the very future of the business itself. It not only cements our position as market leader, the only manufacturer of solid board in our geographic market that currently has the breadth of capability and capacity sited in the UK, but it’s also a real game-changer for both the company and our expanding customer base in order to underpin both current and future business expansion potential.
“However, first and foremost in our redefined three-year strategy, with an agreed two-year budget now in place, is one simple outlook – to service the customer at all times, making it easy for customers to trade with us, a mission statement hugely enhanced by our newly implemented one-stop philosophy.
“Having said that, as always sustainability remains at the very heart of the operation as Solidus strives to develop and deliver safe, sustainable food packaging solutions across all target sectors. We remain keenly aware that more and more consumers are choosing products made from renewable resources that will help protect our planet and its precious eco-systems.
“We remain a major force in the continuing battle to reduce plastic waste, to tick the right boxes when it comes to corporate and social responsibility, to contribute to a cleaner world with less waste. The value cycle starts with renewable forestry and continues with recovered paper from which fibre-based board is produced.”
