Finnish packaging company Huhtamaki (Espoo; www.huhtamaki.com) has inaugurated a new flexible packaging manufacturing unit in Egypt. The site was announced in 2016 – see Plasteurope.com of 27.10.2016 – and is in the greater Cairo area, where it will serve Huhtamaki's customers in Egypt as well as other African countries and Europe. Production started up in spring 2019 and the facility is expected to employ approximately 250 employees.

The new unit is owned and operated as a joint venture, of which Huhtamaki owns 75%. The remaining share is owned by Ayman Korra, who has been Huhtamaki's JV partner in its Egyptian fibre packaging business since 2003. The Finnish company is investing approximately EUR 17m of the total EUR 23m investment, and this is its entry into manufacturing flexible packaging in Africa.

"Until now we have served flexible packaging customers in Egypt from our units in the United Arab Emirates and India," says Olli Koponen, executive VP Flexible Packaging. He says with the rapid population growth in Africa, Huhtamaki expects growth opportunities for the company and its customers.

In separate news, the company's Foodservice manufacturing unit in Hämeenlinna / Finland will move to new premises in 2019. Although the new factory will be slightly smaller, Huhtamaki says the production area is larger. The Finnish company is expecting higher volumes due to automation, new machinery, new product ranges and new ways of working.

Huhtamaki says one focus in designing the factory has been increasing overall operational efficiency. It has also made sustainability a key driver for planning the new facility. The company's Foodservice unit includes a network of other manufacturing sites and sales offices. Plastic products in its portfolio include drink cups and lids as well as containers for food made from polypropylene, polystyrene, PET and PLA.