3 minute read - 17th May 2023
Compack Cartons opens new £13.5m production facility
Compack Cartons has opened its new packaging operation in Livingston following a £13.5m investment in the facility by Port Glasgow-based McLaren Packaging.
Compack, which previously operated from 8,000 sq ft premises in an adjacent unit in the Houston Industrial Estate, was acquired by McLaren in 2017, and has since doubled its workforce and quadrupled turnover. The firm designs and manufactures carton packaging for premium and luxury brands in the food and drink, pharmaceutical and medical device sectors. All its products are manufactured from 100% recyclable materials.
The investment has significantly upgraded Compack’s capabilities in Houston Industrial Estate, including the purchase and refurbishment of an existing 66,000 sq ft unit, investment in new equipment and the latest print, foil, embossing and finishing technologies. The unit also has 1,200 pallet space storage on site. The investment, which received grant support from Scottish Enterprise, will create 26 new jobs and safeguard 59 existing jobs over a two-year period.
Compack Cartons has opened its new packaging production facility in Livingston following a £13.5m investment / Picture: McLaren Packaging
The facility upgrade includes 188kW solar PV installation, replacement insulated roof to improve energy performance, waste heat recovery technologies to reduce the energy and gas demand of the building, inline automated print adjustment to greatly reduce set-up waste, and live carbon footprint and benchmarking information for each printing job.
Steve Railton, managing director of Compack, said: “The larger production facility and industry leading machinery gives Compack the capability to better serve the needs and growth aspirations of our key customers responsibly. Our goal is to have the most energy efficient, sustainable facility in the UK. Our new facility expands our production capacity significantly, enables us to attract and retain highly skilled staff and create new skilled jobs in Central Scotland for young people. It also gives us the ability to manufacture short runs, to short lead times with a short supply chain to local and international companies based in the UK.”
Donald McLaren, managing director at McLaren Packaging, added: “The investment in Compack demonstrates the importance of our Livingston operation and our long-term commitment to the future of premium and luxury packaging produced in Scotland. We foresee significant opportunity for locally sourced packaging and this expansion will allow us to offer a comprehensive portfolio of eco-conscious packs to the market. There is considerable client interest for this proposition and the venture will enable us to deliver on this opportunity. The investment also allows us to vertically integrate by bringing in house our existing material purchasing for conversion in other areas of our business. We are proud to be a wholly independent Scottish manufacturer providing high quality products to both global and local clients.”
The investment, which received grant support from Scottish Enterprise, will create 26 new jobs and safeguard 59 existing jobs over a two-year period / Picture: McLaren Packaging
Founded in 1979, McLaren Packaging manufactures a wide range of paper-based packaging for the premium drinks and Scotch whisky sectors. At the forefront of paper-based packaging throughout its 43-year history, it operates from six factories in Central Scotland with annual revenues of £45m and a workforce totalling 300.