Weidenhammer already supplied composite can packaging for UB products such as salted snacks, managing director Ralf Weidenhammer told FoodProductionDaily at the Fachpack 2012 trade show in Nuremberg.
But the establishment of production in Bradford had enabled it to secure new business with UB: supplying a new design of plastic box for its Family Circle biscuits selection. The new design was introduced four weeks ago.
Increase capacity
“We have plans to increase capacity in the UK, which has the most sophisticated packaging in Europe,” Weidenhammer said. “This year we increased turnover by 20% and we plan year-by-year increases of 20%.
“Bradford has high capacity for composite can production. We have reinvested in the bricks and stones, so we have the space, and in people, so we have the skills.”
Weidenhammer’s 110,000 square foot Bradford facility had the potential to produce 50% of its energy requirements using renewable photovoltaic means, he said.
There was currently more than enough space at Bradford to increase capacity there for the next four or five years without considering extra sites, he added.
Grow exports
In addition to employing it to serve the UK market, Weidenhammer plans to use the Bradford plant to grow exports to the rest of Europe, he said. “The industry in the UK depends on getting back to exports.”
Outside of Europe, the company had designs on South America, said Weidenhammer.
The company focuses on barrier packaging, concentrating on composite can production and in-mould labelling (IML).
