Plastic tray and container manufacturer Faerch Plast (Holstebro / Denmark; www.faerchplast.com) has officially opened its state-of-the-art production facility in Durham / UK. The 14,000m² factory has been fully refurbished since being bought from Veriplast (Saint-Priest / France; www.veriplast.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 17.11.2011 – and is currently operating with six thermoforming machines, supported by two extruders and robotic packing systems. The cost of the investment has not been disclosed. There are 36 staff at present, but the company anticipates that number to rise to 150 as capacity is expanded to 20 machines; six further thermoforming units are planned by the end of this year. Output of ready-made meal trays and fresh meat trays is expected to reach 300m units per year once the plant is fully operational.

The majority of what Faerch Plast currently sells in the UK is crystallised PET trays for ready meals, making it one of the largest users of the material in the UK. The fresh meat trays are made from PP. Compared to the group's plants in Denmark, the Durham facility operates at lower costs, boasts shorter delivery times to UK customers and has increased productivity.

In addition to the current premises, Faerch Plast has acquired an adjacent plot that gives it a total site of 30,000m² to allow for future expansion. Speaking at the time of the company’s initial announcement to start UK production, CEO Lars Gade Hansen said: “This significant investment is part of Faerch Plast’s long term strategy of being close to its customers, which means that, among other things, we can achieve a high level of supply security.” In addition to its HQ production operations in Holstebro, Faerch Plast also has a factory in Liberec / Czech Republic.