Zeus announces €15 million investment in Aldar Tissue quadrupling capacity
Published date: 10/05/2021 10:28
10 May 2021: Irish-owned Zeus Packaging, Europe’s
leading independent packaging manufacturer and distributor, has today announced
a €15 million investment in Aldar Tissue, the Dublin based tissue manufacturer.
Zeus acquired Aldar Tissue in 2019, as part of a three year €40million
acquisition strategy which concluded in February of this year.
Zeus will invest €10 million in the construction of a new 100,000 sq ft Aldar
production facility in Rathcoole, providing a purpose-built facility to relocate
and expand existing production. Located close to Zeus’ headquarters and Dublin
distribution centre to drive operational efficiencies, this new facility will
be ready early 2022. A further €5 million will be invested in two new
fully-automated, state-of-the-art production lines. The new facility will
enable Aldar to quadruple capacity and introduce new premium brands to large
retailers across the island of Ireland along with exporting to customers in the
UK & Europe.
Speaking on the announcement, Zeus CEO Keith Ockenden said: “Aldar is
one of only two toilet tissue manufacturers on the island of Ireland, who
combined, represent just 20% of the market. The rest of the Irish toilet tissue
market is completely reliant on import. Not only is this a negative from a
sustainability perspective, it also highlights the additional challenges
brought on by Brexit and the knock-on impact of high distribution costs on the
consumer.
“At Zeus, we wish to remove this reliance in the Irish market on UK and
European imports by strengthening indigenous manufacturers such as Aldar. Since
2019, we have worked with Aldar to improve financial performance by
streamlining costs, maximising efficiencies, leveraging economies of scale, and
developing new product lines. Through this continued investment by Zeus into
infrastructure and technology, Aldar is on track to becoming the largest toilet
tissue producer on the island of Ireland, increasing our Irish capacity to 40%
of market needs. This investment protects employment and brings further job
creation to the area.’
Commenting on the announcement, Project Manager of Aldar Tissues,
Darren Farrell, added: “Since 2013, we have been committed to supplying
high-quality products, with a strong emphasis on sustainability. Over the last 3
years, we have invested €4million in in world class paper converting machines,
diversified our product ranges and expanded our customer base.
“This investment by Zeus will accelerate our growth path,
enabling us to become the largest Irish manufacturer of own brand and private
label paper products.”
In February
2021, Zeus acquired Austrian-based food packaging solutions business,
Petruzalek, expanding and strengthening Zeus’s geographic presence across 12
countries in Western, Central and Eastern Europe. Established by Brian
O’Sullivan in 1998, Zeus today employs 600 people across 26 countries. The
group’s turnover has grown substantially over the past three years, reaching
€208m in 2020 and expected to reach €280m for 2021.