Business Secretary welcomes SAICA investment
Lord Mandelson has welcomed the construction of a new SAICA £290m recycled paper mill in Manchester.
The new mill, to be built at the Partington Wharf development, was according to Mandelson, a "great win" for the North West and the rest of the UK, adding, "This shows great confidence in our economic future and has all the right ingredients. It is a long-term commitment in environmental technology which will be central to the UK's growth strategy".
The new paper mill will provide almost 200 jobs. The Spanish-owned firm will manufacture approximately 400,000 tonnes of 100% recycled containerboard at the site. First planning applications for the Partington Wharf site were lodged in August 2007.
A state of the art 7.5m-wide paper machine, has been installed which will run at speeds up to 1,500m/min, producing high quality lightweight board.
The mill will divert an estimated 450,000 tonnes of used paper destined for export to be recycled in the UK.
Eduardo Aragües, SAICA Group President said, "This huge investment, in the current economic climate, is the best message SAICA can send to its UK customers, to whom we are fully devoted and with which we are establishing a long term partnership".
Since 2007, SAICA has invested more than £470m in the UK when it acquired International Paper's packaging business in the UK. They have also paid £100m in the acquisition of 19 of SCA's plants in the UK.
