DS Smith, a leading fibre-based sustainable packaging company has invested 6 million euros in expanding the production capacity at its La Chevrolière facility located near to the city of Nantes in the West of France. The company has expanded the production area by and invested in a new Bobst Mastercut 2.1 die-cut machine, and a cardboard pallet production line to meet fast-growing demand for corrugated cardboard in the region. The new 2,500m
2 workshop dedicated to the production of Kaypal cardboard pallets, has a capacity of 250,000 units, and a potential to produce up to 1.5 million pallets each year.
The Kaypal pallet is beneficial to DS Smith customers in that it is fully recyclable, is ultra-light weighing just 3.5kg, ergonomic, hygienic, economical, and re-usable. It has potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions during transportation and is helpful as a compact solution for reducing environmental impacts.
The sustainable product is an ideal solution for the road and air transportation of products, floor, and point-of-sale (POS) displays, pallet boxes (bulk) or order preparation for retail logistics centres (interlayer pallets).
Thibault Laumonier, DS Smith France regional managing director said: “At DS Smith Packaging France, we understand that innovation and respect for the environment go hand-in-hand and this is in keeping with our ‘Now and Next’ sustainability strategy and company-wide purpose of redefining packaging for a changing world.
“The opening of our new Kaypal cardboard pallet production workshop in La Chevrolière will help our regional customers to move towards a circular economy, and with sustainable packaging options that impact positively on the reduction of CO
2 throughout the entire supply chain. We are setting new industry standards in sustainable packaging and building a future that is more respectful of the environment that we live in.”
The DS Smith La Chevrolière packaging facility was built in 2010 and employs 170 people. It is a ‘state of the art’ facility that houses a multitude of robots and machinery with full automated transfers. The DS Smith packaging solutions are distributed within a radius of less than 150km and predominantly intended for customers in the food industry.