Craemer Group Invests £25m In Second British Production Facility
Leading plastics manufacturer Craemer Group has now launched a facility for plastics injection moulding at Hortonwood West in Telford, Great Britain. It is the Group’s second plastics facility in Telford for the production of wheelie bins, pallets and storage and transport containers. The Group is investing £25m (27,5 million euros) in the new site including large machinery to add new products to Craemer UK’s portfolio: a range of four-wheeled commercial waste bins and pallet boxes, which until recently could only be manufactured at the Group’s German headquarters. The company’s expansion will create up to 70 new jobs at the Telford site.
“Since the launch of our first Telford plant at Hortonwood in 2006, Craemer UK has grown significantly with turnover surging from five million in 2006 to around £27.8 million in 2018”, said Steve Poppitt, Managing Director of Craemer UK. “After expanding the premises to a total of 3.6 hectares in 2013, we had reached our limits and needed to find an area for expansion as close as possible”.
Purchased in 2017, the 5.3-hectare site at Hortonwood West is less than a mile away and gives ample room for further expansion in the future. The new production plant covers about half of the land, consisting of a 6,000-square-metre production and storage hall, plus adjacent technical, office and social area as well as outdoor facilities. Production has started with three injection moulding machines, with more to follow as business develops. At full capacity, Site B will create up to 70 jobs. At the same time, the new factory will help safeguard the 65 positions at Site A.
“The expansion has already generated over 30 new jobs at Telford as a direct result of Site B development and there will be more by the end of this year”, said Steve Poppitt. “In addition to creating new jobs and to further supporting the local economy, the launch of this second Craemer Telford site also emphasises the Germany-based Craemer Group’s ongoing commitment to its UK manufacturing arm”, Steve Poppitt points out. “We are confident that the investment in the new Telford facility and in new machinery will further strengthen Craemer’s position in the domestic, European and global markets for many years to come.”
Until recently, Craemer’s first own 1,100 litre wheelie bin (neo4) presented to the market in 2018 could only be manufactured at the German headquarters – due to the size of the machinery required for its production. The new Telford site is also equipped with a 5,500-tonne injection moulding machine and the manufacture of the neo4 has started at Craemer UK now too. The production of Craemer’s first own pallet box launched to the market in 2017 is expected to follow soon.
The Germany-based Craemer Group, specialists in metal forming, plastics processing and tool making, was founded in 1912. Today, the internationally active family company has four production sites in three European countries and employs over 950 staff. In 2018, the Group achieved a total operating performance of around 275 million euros. www.craemer.com