DS Smith is boosting its UK Paper and Corrugated Packaging business with an investment to produce high quality lightweight corrugated case material at its prime UK paper mill at Kemsley. In a £60M deal, it has acquired the adjacent New Thames Paper Mill from M-real, as well as the 50 per cent balance of Grovehurst Energy, the mills’ energy and services supplier, not already owned by DS Smith. The acquired facility currently produces fine uncoated paper and, DS Smith intends to invest a further £37M in the latest paper making technology over the next 12 months to enable it to produce high quality lightweight recycled CCM from January, 2009. The total cost of the project is expected to be about £104M (u139M). The acquisition and investment are expected to provide DS Smith with 260,000t/year of high quality lightweight corrugated case material to satisfy the group’s own growing demand and that of its customers. It currently has very limited capacity to produce this product.
DS Smith Tel: +44 (0) 20 7269 7140 www.dsmith.uk.com
