Packaging specialist continues Europe-wide internationalisation
The Schumacher Packaging Group, one of the largest family-run manufacturers of packaging solutions made of corrugated and solid board (www.schumacher-packaging.com), has now officially renamed its new production site in Birmingham, England: Jaffabox Ltd" will become "Schumacher Packaging Ltd" on 1 April 2020. In November 2019, the Schumacher Packaging Group took over Jaffabox, also a family-run company and manufacturer of a wide range of corrugated board packaging solutions. At the same time, a generational change in the former owner family took place: Today, Annette Amyes is Managing Director at the Birmingham plant and her brother Mark acts as Sales Director. The name change of the English plant underlines that customers in the UK can now also access the complete solution portfolio of the European Schumacher Packaging Group - including consulting, services and logistics.
Full service in packaging now also in the UK
"The development in the first few months in which the Birmingham plant has been part of the group has been very pleasing", reports Björn Schumacher, Managing Director of the Schumacher Packaging Group. "Our international customers in particular see it as positive that we can now offer them the same full service in the UK as at our other European sites in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Although the plant in Birmingham is already at a high technological level, the Group plans to push ahead with further expansion there as well. "Depending on the further economic situation in connection with the Corona crisis, we plan to invest six million euros in a first step to automate the material flow in the plant and create additional processing lines," explains Björn Schumacher. "The Birmingham plant has great potential."
Continuity and growth in Birmingham
Schumacher Packaging Ltd in Birmingham will continue to be managed by the former owner family Amyes. However, the brothers Frank and John Amyes have taken their well-deserved retirement and have handed over their operational responsibilities to the next generation, to Annette and Mark Amyes. "On the one hand, our British customers are pleased about the continuity at our location", says Managing Director Annette Amyes, "they will continue to be looked after by familiar faces with high competence, creativity and reliability. At the same time, they welcome the fact that we are now once again significantly expanding our range of services. Together with the large, international group, we offer our customers even more diverse packaging solutions that are as innovative as they are economical, and open up new opportunities throughout Europe". Annette Amyes reports that the response of the employees in Birmingham has also been very positive. "We are all convinced that being part of the strong Schumacher Packaging Group is the ideal basis for continuing the success story of our site.
Internationalisation strategy on a European scale
With the integration of the Birmingham plant, 16 production sites in Europe belong to the Schumacher Packaging Group - in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Customers appreciate the broad European market presence and the uniformly high technology, quality and service standards. The owner-managed group, which currently has around 3,500 employees, sees itself as one of the productivity and technology leaders in the packaging industry. In the 2019 financial year, Schumacher Packaging generated sales of 648 million euros.