UK-based packaging giant Rexam has said the company is looking to open its first facility in mainland Europe as part of its strategy to increase its global presence.
Speaking to just-food at the Food & Drink Expo in Birmingham, UK, today (27 March), Rexam’s sales and marketing director Nick Brewin said the company’s strategy is to continue growing in Europe, with a particular emphasis on mainland Europe.
Go deeper with GlobalData
“We are looking particularly at mainland Europe, given the more affluent consumers. They are becoming more so in Eastern Germany, and we see that spreading to extend into Eastern Europe too.”
Brewin told just-food the company will look to open its first manufacturing facility in the region by 2014 as part of this growth strategy. The company currently imports its packaging from the US. This will be the company’s first dedicated facility for Europe, he said.
“Because of the spread of customers we are more likely to plump for somewhere central,” he said.
Rexam, which produces plastic packaging for food and healthcare firms, and cans for beverage firms, said it has increased its volumes from 6m packs to 80m annually. But the firm’s target for 2014, Brewin said, will be double that.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData“We need to be supplying around 150m to 200m in order to justify setting up a new facility, but everything we are doing and seeing is suggesting that we should be there or thereabouts by 2014,” he said. “We want to have a global presence and we are well on the way to achieving that.”
Rexam achieved a group turnover of GBP4.6bn (US$7.3bn) in 2011. Of that, GBP3.7bn was from its drinks business, and GBP100,000 from its food business.
Brewin, however, said while food packaging was the smallest of its businesses, it is the fastest growing.
The company has recently secured a contract with UK soup maker Baxters Food Group, in addition to a contract with Isabel in Spain and Aldi and Lidl in Germany.
