Page 7 - Packaging News Jan-Feb 2020

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January-February 2020 www.packagingnews.com.au
NEWS
OjiFS to invest $100m in Christchurch plant
OJI FIBRE SOLUTIONS (OjiFS) will invest around $100m in a new automated cardboard box plant development in Christ- church, which will replace its existing operation.
The development will in- clude the latest equipment to produce sustainable packaging products for the South Island primary produce sectors. OjiFS aims to complete the project in 2021.
Grant Fitzgibbon, chief operating officer of Packag- ing at OjiFS, said, “We are delighted with this decision – it is a significant invest- ment and will modernise our operations. The new facility will replace the existing Shands Road operation with a purpose-built building, state of the art box-making and printing equipment, and more automation.”
According to OjiFS the in- vestment will achieve a more energy-efficient and sustain- able operation, providing for organic growth in produc- tion and allowing the compa- ny to continue to operate from Christchurch.
“We will purchase the land, and plan to decommission the Shands Road operation as we
move into the new site. A small amount of equipment will be transferred to the new site, and we will end our lease of the old premises when the project is complete,” said Fitzgibbon.
The investment in the new plant is the latest in a line of several large-scale investments by OjiFS in New Zealand and Australia in recent years, in-
cluding a proposed $100m up- grade to the Kinleith Mill wastewater treatment systems; the recent $63m transformation of Tasman Mill; a new $70m box plant in Yatala, Queensland; and a $30m upgrade of the paper bag plant in Auckland. ■
Cardboard corrugator at Oji Fibre Solutions’ Yatala facility in Australia.
CCL buys kids’ label company for $8.1m
GLOBAL label giant CCL Indus- tries is spending $8.1m to buy Stuck on You, the Geelong- based manufacturer of person- alised kids’ labels founded by Carrie Felton.
CCL plans to bolt Stuck on You, which enjoyed $8.3m in sales and an adjusted $1.3m EBITDA in FY2019, onto its Av- ery business.
Stuck on You employs 40 people and, according to CEO Felton, all staff will keep their jobs at its Geelong premises.
“I believe it is the right time for both the business and for me personally to join the larg- est labelling company in the world, CCL Industries.
“Stuck on You has enjoyed fabulous growth year-on- year and we will continue to look forward and be creative and innovative in our
bespoke technology and product offering.
“We will continue our strong focus on exceptional customer experience and of- fering families what they need based on outstanding quality, functionality, and de- sign,” she said.
Mark Cooper, president of Avery, said: “This acquisition complements similar web-to- print propositions already present in our global portfolio of brands.”
Stuck on You has operated since 1995, and was born when Felton, then a single mother, was turned down by her local printer for an order of name la- bels with aeroplanes on them for her son. ■
Right: Fabulous growth: Carrie Felton, Stuck on You.