Another step for the Saica paper group, the national leader in the manufacture of paper and cardboard in Spain, in its growth strategy. The Aragonese company will invest more than 100 million euros in a new factory for its corrugated cardboard packaging division, Saica Pack, which will be located in the Can Margarit industrial estate in the municipality of Sant Esteve Sesrovires (Barcelona), where it already manages a warehouse of finished product. With this operation, the firm plans to unify under one roof the operations that it currently maintains in its two plants in El Prat and Barcelona.
As they announced this Tuesday, the new plant has two objectives. On the one hand, "accompanying its clients in their growth and satisfying the changing needs of the market". On the other, to overcome "the limitations of space and age" of its current facilities. In addition, the investment represents a reinforcement of the group for its presence and long-term commitment with the main national packaging market and with its Catalan customers.
The new facility "is the result of careful long-term planning to be close to our customers and the main communication nodes," said Miguel Arévalo, project manager and managing director of Saica Pack El Prat. In his opinion, the growth potential, which was limited by the lack of space in its current plants, is "very high" with this new location.
Saica acquired the land for the new factory in 2010 and actively participated in the promotion of the industrial estate, which is now occupied by important companies such as Goodman or Decathlon. Last year 2018, the firm built and already began to operate in this location.
The new factory will have the latest technology in the sector, "which will combine flexography and offset and will have notable advances," said Arévalo, keys to achieving the quality and service objectives required by its strategic plan. "Due to size and technology, the new plant will be a national and European benchmark in the sustainable packaging sector," he summarized.
For now, the Barcelona and El Prat facilities will continue to operate until the new factory opens, to which they will gradually transfer production. According to the company, the workers of both plants (194 and 100 respectively) and their representatives are participating in this transition process and will be offered a transfer to the new factory.
“We are working on the new organization and we hope to have opportunities for everyone on the current roster. This is a growth project and we will keep the legal representatives of the workers informed of its evolution,” said Arévalo.
The largest manufacturer of paper and cardboard in Spain was founded just 80 years ago by seven people, including the grandfather of its current president, Ramón Alejandro. Currently, the group has more than 10,000 employees and a presence in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Turkey, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United States and Poland. In 2022, Saica registered a consolidated turnover of 4,394 million euros, and aspires to continue with its investment plan to increase its positions in Europe.
