Finnish technical laminate and protective packaging producer Walki Group (Espoo; www.walki.com) will invest close to EUR 10m in a new plant in Wroclaw / Poland. Scheduled for start-up in Q3 this year, the facility will focus on turning out materials for the forest industry and consumer packaging segments. No further details on output were provided, with Walki merely saying that this facility – its third in Poland – would employ about 50 workers once on stream.

Commenting on the investment, Walki CEO Leif Frilund said it showed the company’s “strong commitment to its fast growing customer base in central and eastern Europe”, adding that the facility would allow for “shorter lead times and on a longer term a wider product offering”. Complementing that statement, Timo Finnström, executive vice president Operations, said, “We will have more opportunities to optimise our European production activities and to get access to new raw material sources.”

Specialised in the production of technical laminates and protective packaging, Walki’s portfolio includes energy saving construction facings and membranes as well as barrier packaging applications. The company operates in 12 countries, including Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Poland, Russia, the UK and China, and has an overall workforce of 950. Walki last generated sales of about EUR 300m.