Award-winning potato packer sells Netherlands mill

A COMPANY that has won awards for the sustainable packaging it has created for potatoes, has just sold its paper mill in the Netherlands.

DS Smith recently completed the sale of its De Hoop paper mill to De Jong Packaging. 

DS Smith has formerly been awarded the prestigious ScanStar Prize in the Nordic packaging competition for its fridge-box product for potatoes, designed in co-operation with its customer, Tuorekartano Oy, and was also recognised for the protective packaging solution it created for new potatoes for Pacsystem in Helsingborg, Sweden, which helps small growers consolidate packaging orders and make savings with bulk purchases.

DS Smith coated the new potato case with a waterproof barrier on both the liner and the fluting to effectively withstand all moisture attacks.

The mill it has sold produces mainly heavier grades of recycled paper whereas the company wants to concentrate on light-weight sustainable packaging solutions for FMCG and e-commerce customers. The €50 million generated from the sale will support further enhancement of the company's packaging capacity, partially funding new greenfield corrugated box plants in Italy and Poland, and a significant expansion of its Arnstadt packaging facility in Germany.
 
Group Chief Executive, Miles Roberts, said: "I am pleased that we have completed the sale of the De Hoop mill, which is consistent with our long term strategy to align our paper production and footprint with the needs of our packaging customers. I would like to thank our colleagues at the De Hoop mill for all their hard work and wish them all the best with De Jong Packaging.” 

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