Ongoing investment for Cepac, as it enhances production of food safe packaging at Darlington.

UK-based Cepac Ltd continues to enhance its business, having now completed the latest phase of a £20m, three-year investment plan.

In the most recent part of the project, Cepac has not only added additional in-house corrugating capacity to its Darlington site, but it has also added new equipment specifically to produce its Flutepac portfolio - a range of direct-food contact, fully recyclable packaging.

Adding microflute corrugator capacity to the Darlington site, Cepac is now positioned as one of the UK’s largest producers from a single site for trays, punnets, and clamshells for a diverse range of food applications. From fresh fruit, to salads, baked goods to food-on-the-go items such as sushi, Flutepac is a sustainable alternative to the traditional plastic offering in the marketplace, perfectly suited for brands that want to transition to cardboard packaging solutions.

All in-house

At Darlington, Cepac is uniquely positioned to apply fully recyclable barriers for grease and moisture resistance, to the base paper raw material and process through to finished product. After coating, the barrier-treated reels of paper are then made into corrugated cardboard on the microflute corrugator. Stacked sheets of microflute cardboard are then die-cut, folded, and glued into the finished trays, punnets, and clamshells, all under one roof.

“The Flutepac range is quickly establishing itself as a premier cardboard packaging solution, as it is easy to use, offers the ultimate in product protection and is simple to recycle after use,” explains Chris Ford, Group Sales Director, Cepac. “By bringing every step of the manufacturing process under one roof at our Darlington site, we are now comfortably positioned as one of the largest manufacturers of cardboard tray solutions for the UK market.

Food-on-the-go and convenience are important to consumers, and there is a growing awareness and desire to use packaging that can be easily identified as widely recyclable – cardboard is the ultimate solution for sure.”

“Investment has always been a key pillar of Cepac’s core competencies,” adds Steve Moss, Group Managing Director. “Adding additional microflute corrugator capacity to Darlington, brings an extra dimension to the site, allowing us to produce specific microflute board for food-safe applications. We are certainly excited by the opportunities and enhanced production capabilities now for Darlington and of course, having production all on one site means the customers benefit from faster delivery times and the reassurance of full BRCGS
AA accredited production all in one location.”