BRAZIL – Irish corrugated packaging company, Smurfit Kappa has agreed to acquire Brazilian packaging plant, PaperBox.
The acquisition is anticipated to be finalized by the end of October, subject to regulatory body clearance. The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Located in Saquarema, 70km east of Rio de Janeiro, the 50,000m² high-tech industrial park has its own logistics fleet.
Smurfit Kappa Brazil CEO Manuel Alcalá said: “PaperBox has a distinguished history in the region and a special commitment to all stakeholders. This is a legacy that Smurfit Kappa will build upon.”
With a plant in Brazil, Smurfit Kappa will benefit from the country’s market base as it is of the largest corrugated cardboard markets in Latin America, recording 7.4 billion m2 in annual production.
The country’s Southeast region, where PaperBox is located, produces 46% of this total volume.
This acquisition represents a further expansion of Smurfit Kappa’s operational footprint in Brazil as it currently operates in three other states: Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Ceará.
Commenting on the deal, Smurfit Kappa Americas CEO Laurent Sellier said: “We are very proud to expand our footprint in Brazil to meet the growing demand for innovative and sustainable packaging.
“This acquisition will broaden and strengthen our presence in the country, improve our production capabilities and enable us to continue to create new opportunities and form new partnerships with customers.”
Consumer appetite for sustainable packaging grows despite turbulent year
Meanwhile, the Irish company has partnered with fashion retail authority Drapers on a report about the importance of sustainable packaging in consumers’ purchasing decisions.
The research, which was done against the backdrop of supply chain issues, rising inflation and the ongoing war in Ukraine, revealed that two-thirds of respondents stated they want to be more sustainable and more than a third have purchased a product based on the sustainability of its packaging.
In the Drapers’ Sustainability and the Consumer 2022 report fashion consumers show a growing appetite for both sustainable products and packaging, revealing that concern about climate change is influencing purchasing decisions despite volatility on the world stage.
The report saw that 65% of respondents stated that knowing that the packaging is recycled is important, while 42% said that the use of recycled content is important.
A further 49% indicated that using a small amount of packaging is important to them, stating that the overuse of packaging has become a ‘bugbear of many’, particularly when it comes to online shopping.
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