Monday, July 23, 2018

News: United Caps confirms Rotherham investment

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United Caps, an international manufacturer of caps and closures, has confirmed that it will make a multimillion pound investment in a new facility in Rotherham that will manufacture beverage and dairy closures.

Rothbiz reported last month that the Luxembourg-based multinational had selected a site at Dinnington in Rotherham for its first UK location.

Formerly known as Procap, the company is a European leader in the development, production and sale of plastic caps and closures. A preferred partner to the world's leading companies, United Caps produces custom designed specialty closures for the likes of Arla, Danone, Unilever, L'Oréal and Pfizer.

The initial facility will be 54,000 sq ft, with an option to expand to 215,000 sq ft as business growth demands. A planning application is being submitted for a site on the 31 East development on the remaining land at the reclaimed Dinnington Colliery.

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Production is expected to begin at the end of 2019 and will initially focus on beverage and dairy closures, with options to add additional segments as needed. This project represents an estimated €20m (£18m) investment including the first phase of machinery and is expected to increase group turnover by 15% in phase one and will initially employ 20 staff.

The investment in Rotherham is being backed by a £1.5m direct grant from the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority.

Benoit Henckes, CEO of United Caps (pictured back row, far left), said: "This expansion to the United Kingdom is in response to increasing demand there for our products. We chose Rotherham because of its central location along the M1, available technical skilled people and the reasonable cost of land in that area. This will be our first plant in the United Kingdom, and we are looking forward to working closely with the Rotherham Council as the project proceeds."

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Cllr. Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council, added: "We are excited to have a company of the quality of United Caps joining our community. We look forward to working with them to ensure a timely completion of the new factory, as well as future expansions as their business needs dictate. The beginning of operations means 20 new jobs almost immediately, and the welcome news that we can be hopeful there will be many more jobs to come for dedicated local people in the future.

"This development is further confirmation of the attractive location that Rotherham has become for investors, with United Caps sitting alongside McLaren Automotive, Rolls-Royce, Boeing, Siemens, Forgemasters and others.

"The Council and Local Together Partnership are working to give businesses the confidence to invest in jobs, homes and developments within Rotherham and it's resulting in Rotherham becoming one of the fastest growing local economies in the country.

"As the economy continues to grow we can look forward to seeing more local people in highly skilled and entrepreneurial jobs, and Rotherham becoming a quality place to live and work, with a strong transport, digital and environmental infrastructure."

United Caps, which had net sales of €137m in 2017, has made a number of acquisitions in recent years and is opening a new manufacturing plant in Malaysia at the end of 2018. The firm also invests in R&D such as developing greener enclosures using plant-based plastics rather than petroleum-based plastic.

The "Close to You" strategy involves the company becoming more customer-oriented, focused on customisation and service. United Caps said that it conducted a number of market studies leading up to the selection of the Dinnington site.

Henckes added: "Our studies reflected that demand was highest for beverage and dairy closures. More specifically, we will focus on the production of plastic closures for flat and medium carbonated drinks as well as fruit juices and dairy products in PET bottles. Of course, our customers in the United Kingdom will have access to our full portfolio of caps and closures, as well as to the expert resources in our Messia R&D facility [in France]."

United Caps website

Images: United Caps

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