AR Packaging has initiated a review of its operational footprint to sustainably and professionally meet the growing expectations of its customers on high efficiency, vast expertise and strong innovation skills.
As part of the review, the Sweden-based packaging company has decided to close the A&R Carton plant in Moscow as it thinks its other two plants in Russia are enough to serve the Russian market.
It will also close the Kauttua facility in Finland to sustain its competitiveness and profitability in the Nordic carton market.
AR Packaging revealed that a total of about 150 employees will be affected by the changes at the Russian and Finnish plants.
The packaging firm says that it has been in an expansion phase since a few years. As part of it, the Swedish company had carried out acquisitions and has continued to migrate from general packaging to selected segments where it holds a competitive edge.
AR Packaging says that cutting edge investments are in progress at various plants in Europe. These investments according to the company cover a span from state-of-the-art equipment for boosting efficiencies to expansion of selected facilities.
AR Packaging says that the strengthened centres of excellence will grow both its capabilities and capacity. As a result, the company intends to consolidate and optimise its operations actively in select locations.
AR Packaging president and CEO Harald Schulz said: “AR Packaging has gained significant new business in targeted segments as set in our strategy.
“After a successful integration of the businesses acquired during latest years, we now take a holistic view on our footprint.
“Strong skill centres and further site specialisation through focused technology and know-how will increase the Group’s ability to lead future developments while aligning presence to optimal locations.”
