BoxWay Packaging Group Limited, a newly incorporated independent company led by CEO Andrew Woollard, acquired Saica's corrugated sheet plants in Exeter, Peterlee and Telford in England and announced a multi-year investment plan.

Pitreavie Group announced a further £1 million investment in new plant and machinery at its Cumbernauld corrugated box facility, including a Bobst folder gluer and a flat bed die cutter, adding seven jobs once the equipment arrives.

Robertson has been awarded an £18 million construction contract by SAICA Group to convert a former distribution centre in Livingston, West Lothian, into a cardboard manufacturing facility for SAICA Pack. The £50 million plant is due for completion in December 2021.

CorrBoard UK will shortly install a new £1.5m automated palletisation system and significant IT control system upgrades at its 320,000 sq ft facility in North Lincolnshire.

VPK Group increased its shareholding in CorrBoard UK to 50% through new shares and by acquiring the stake of former shareholder Garthwest. McLaren Packaging also subscribed for new shares in the corrugated sheet board producer.

Coveris acquired UK-based flexibles manufacturer Four04 Packaging in May 2021; the price was undisclosed.

Coca-Cola European Partners commissioned KHS to supply a second turnkey canning line at its Wakefield beverage factory in the UK, after line 4 proved successful. The lines use Innofill Can DVD can fillers with capacity of up to 120,000 cans per hour.

ALLpaQ Packaging has expanded its Widnes operations by leasing unit two at Speke Approach, adding 30,000 sq ft of production and manufacturing space on a five-year lease.

European household packaging group SPHERE acquired SARPAK Ltd, based in Port Talbot, Wales, strengthening its position in the United Kingdom. The deal value was not disclosed.

Macfarlane Group has acquired Carters Packaging, a protective packaging distributor operating from a 25,000 sq ft facility in Redruth, Cornwall, in a £4.5m deal. The announcement was reported on 2021-04-01.

Hull Boxes & Packaging, an East Yorkshire packaging maker, secured a £110,000 loan jointly funded by Finance For Enterprise and the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. The funds paid for a new die cutter and gluing and stitching machines to raise capacity, and the company created three new jobs.

WestRock is partnering with Heinz UK to use its Cluster-Wing paperboard multipack, removing 550 tons of plastic packaging, backed by a three-year £25 million automation investment at Heinz's Kitt Green factory.

Smurfit Kappa has approved a €40 million investment to expand capacity at its Mold plant in North Wales, making it the largest box factory in the UK. The investment includes equipment expected to cut CO2 emissions per tonne by 15%.

Smurfit Kappa announced a multi-million pound investment in its Tannochside plant in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, to improve print and conversion equipment for solid board and corrugated divisions.

Coveris acquired specialty bag manufacturer Initial Packaging, reported on March 4, 2021.

Berlin Packaging announced the acquisition of Roma International PLC, a supplier of bottles, jars and closures for high-end cosmetics and personal care products. It is Berlin Packaging's twelfth acquisition in Europe since 2016.

Italian luxury packaging company Pusterla 1880 announced the acquisition of Leicester-based Pollard Boxes, the largest rigid box producer in the UK. The deal expands Pusterla's design, development and production resources in the UK market.

Macfarlane Group agreed to acquire protective packaging maker GWP Group in a £15 million deal, reported on March 1, 2021.

Harwood Private Equity completed a management buyout of UK pharmaceutical and healthcare packaging maker Medica Packaging from Sullivan Street Partners. Managing director Gerard Harford and finance director Mark Stokes led the buyout.

Esterpet, set up by Esterform management, secured £9m of asset finance from Shawbrook Bank to buy two Starlinger rPET production lines at Sherburn-in-Elmet, Leeds, each capable of over 13,000 tonnes a year.

Contract packer Framptons has installed the UK's first SIG Combidome carton bottle filler line, the first SIG Combidome installation for plant-based beverages in Europe. The line offers three filling volumes.

Netherlands-headquartered Solidus Solutions acquired Heathpak, a UK producer of solid board packaging with about 16,000 tons annual output, from owners Alan Heath and Lyndon Whitlock. Gambit Corporate Finance advised the sellers.

Siam Cement's SCG Packaging has closed its acquisition of Go-Pak UK Limited. The article provides no deal value or further details.

PFF Group invested over £2m in custom-built machines from Hanbury-Autogil and hired 100 staff at its Washington, Tyne and Wear site to make disposable polythene aprons under a UK Department of Health and Social Care contract for 360 million aprons. The announcement is dated 5 January 2021.

Aston Manor has invested a further £6 million to reconfigure its Aston, Birmingham production site and add a new flexible contract canning packaging line capable of up to 24,000 cans per hour.

LLW Repository Ltd awarded a four-year multi-lot framework for radioactive waste packaging and associated services, with an estimated maximum spend of GBP 17 million. The award was dated 16 July 2020 and published on 30 December 2020.

Harwood Private Equity acquired Medica Packaging Limited of Crewe, Cheshire, through a management buy-out led by Chief Executive Gerard Harford and Finance Director Mark Stokes. Medica makes printed cardboard cartons and folded leaflets for healthcare customers.

Bibby Distribution secured a three-year contract extension to transport goods from Jardin Corrugated's UK production sites in Ely and St Ives, renewed until early 2024. Bibby oversees more than 160 deliveries each week.

JBT Corp. of Chicago agreed to buy United Kingdom-based Proseal, a tray sealing technology maker, for 220 million pounds ($258.67 million), with closing expected in the second quarter of 2021 subject to regulatory approvals.

Oldham-based Ribble Packaging completed a £3.5 million investment project including a warehouse extension and new corrugator and fanfold stacker machinery, raising line speeds and capacity. The project ran from February to early September 2020.

Thailand-based SCG Packaging announced its acquisition of Go-Pak, a UK total packaging solution provider based in Yate, Bristol. Go-Pak will keep its management, operations and brand, and the deal supports SCGP's expansion in the UK, Europe and North America.

Progroup and Krystals have started operating a new £20 million packaging park in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, combining Progroup's corrugated board plant with Krystals' packaging production on one site.

VPK Group agreed to buy Encase, a manufacturer of corrugated cardboard packaging with two corrugated plants in England and one sheet plant in Scotland, for an undisclosed fee. VPK will merge Encase with its UK corrugated operations.

VPK Group agreed to buy Encase Ltd from Canadian Overseas Packaging Industries (COPI) Ltd, a corrugated packaging manufacturer with two plants in England and one in Scotland. VPK intends to merge Encase with its UK corrugated operations.

Boxes and Packaging has installed a new Dong Fang Topra AD1628 2.8m two-colour printer die-cutter at its Leicester site, replacing an older machine to add production capacity for corrugated packaging.

Progroup and Krystals have started operating a joint packaging park in Ellesmere Port near Liverpool, linking Progroup's corrugator with Krystals' packaging production. Progroup's investment in the corrugated board plant and packaging park totals more than £90 million.

Ribble Packaging completed a £3.5 million investment project, including a warehouse extension and new machinery such as the Unifold fanfold stacker, which raises its double-wall line speed from 170 to 220 metres per minute.

Wipak UK, a flexible packaging maker, is investing more than £5 million in new conversion equipment at its Welshpool site, with about 50 new jobs expected. The machinery is due to be operating by summer 2021.

East Yorkshire packaging specialist Origin Ltd has secured a 15 million unit order from the US for its Snappd single-dose sanitiser sachets, after obtaining FDA registration and US trade licences. Production is taking place at its Melton West Business Park facility.

Crediton Dairy became the first UK company to install an Elopak Pure-Pak Aseptic filling line, investing GBP 3 million in the line and GBP 4 million in a new filling hall, with products launched in summer 2020.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority cleared Sonoco Products Company's completed acquisition of French packaging maker Can Packaging SAS after a phase 1 merger inquiry, with the decision announced on 2020-12-21.

Carlton Packaging LLP was awarded a single-supplier contract worth £2,841,600 by the UK Department of Health and Social Care to supply outer packaging for test kits. The award was dated 3 September 2020, with the contract running from June to November 2020.

Soft drinks maker Clearly Drinks plans a multimillion-pound brownfield canning facility at its Sunderland headquarters, backed by private equity firm NorthEdge. The line, supplied by BW Integrated Systems, is expected to produce 160 million cans per year and operate from March.

Coveris has invested about £3.5m to add a second re-equipped factory to its Amberley Labels business, installing two new MPS label presses at its Boston, Lincolnshire site. The site will be rebranded Amberley Labels Boston in September.

UK retailer The White Company is installing Quadient's CVP Everest automated packaging system at its Northampton fulfilment centre in August 2020. The system cuts package volumes by up to 50% and cardboard use by 20%.

The White Company, a UK homeware retailer, selected Quadient's CVP Everest fit-to-size auto-boxing system for installation in August 2020 at its Northampton fulfilment centre. The system is intended to handle growing e-commerce volumes.

Cadman Capital Group acquired specialist printing and packaging firms Norpol Packaging and its sister company Burbridge Packaging. The deal was reported on 21 July 2020 and no value was disclosed.

Netherlands-based De Jong Packaging Holding has acquired a majority shareholding in eCorrugated Ltd, a UK independent corrugated packaging manufacturer. eCorrugated will continue operating under its own name with a high level of independence.

VPK Group increased its shareholding in corrugated board producer CorrBoard UK to 50% through new shares and the purchase of former shareholder Garthwest's stake. CorrBoard operates a plant in North Lincolnshire.

Coventry-based Staeger Clear Packaging has won a substantial NHS contract to supply face visors, which managing director Ian Jamie says will more than double the size of the business.