One of Scotland’s oldest businesses is looking to the future with new machinery that should increase its productivity.
Cullen Eco-Friendly Packaging, which has operated for more than a century, is Europe’s only combined manufacturer of moulded pulp and corrugated cardboard packaging.
The company takes the offcuts from the cardboard boxes it produces for supermarkets and other worldwide customers and turns them into plastic-alternative moulded fibre products for the medical, food and drink, retail, industrial and horticultural sectors.
Now with the help of a £475,000 grant from Scottish Enterprise, the company has been able to extend its Glasgow premises and bring in new machinery, as well as creating 34 new jobs and safeguarding an existing 20.
The extension will allow the business to supply to every UK branch of McDonald's.
Innovation Minister Richard Lochhead visited the site to officially open the new extension.
“I was delighted to be able to visit Cullen to see how support from the Low Carbon Manufacturing Challenge Fund will allow the company to expand its operations and workforce, helping us strive towards our ambition of becoming the home of low carbon manufacturing innovation.
“I’m pleased that the investment will not only create 34 new skilled jobs, through the company’s sustainable practices, it will help us in our aim to reach net zero by 2045 and create a wellbeing economy.”
The project marks a £4.2m total investment by Cullen at its 150,000 sq ft plant in Kelvindale, which currently employs 189 people. The project will also see solar panels installed to further improve the factory’s sustainability.
Allan Maitland, managing director of Cullen, said: “This additional space will mean that Cullen can manufacture and innovate eco-friendly packaging at an even higher rate, which is paramount given the world’s need for sustainable alternatives to plastic.
“This will continue to keep Cullen at the forefront of the sustainable packaging revolution and will no doubt mean that we can create even more jobs.”
Neil Francis, managing director for major projects at Scottish Enterprise, added: “Helping innovative Scottish companies to seize the opportunities in the battle against climate change is a real area of focus for Scottish Enterprise.
“There can be few better examples of this than Cullen, who have been in operation for over 100 years and are now using their expertise to adapt to the industries of the future.”
The money was provided to Cullen from the Scottish Government’s four-year, £25m Low Carbon Manufacturing Challenge Fund, launched last year.
This aims to encourage ideas to speed up adoption or development of low carbon products, services, technologies or processes.
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