April 9, 2019 Updated 4/9/2019
Plastics News Europe
Middleton, Wis. — Flexible packaging firm ePac Flexible Packaging LLC is expanding into Europe, with its first manufacturing site scheduled to begin production in the United Kingdom in the second half of the year.
The Middleton-based maker of finished pouches and rollstock has created ePac Holdings Europe to manage the company’s growth in the region, ePac said in an April 8 news release.
Manufacturing will be in the Midlands region of England, although the company did not specify the exact location.
Focused primarily on food manufacturers and co-packers, ePac serves brands of all sizes with a service model that ships finished pouches in three weeks or less, and rollstock in under 10 business days.
EPac uses digital printing to cater to short- and medium-run orders, allowing customers to order to demand, reduce inventory, and guard against obsolescence in packaging.
The company currently has sales operations in the United Kingdom, with deliveries from its U.S. locations.
In line with the European Union’s movement toward sustainability, ePac said it offers recyclable film as an option.
“Digital printing is far more eco-friendly than conventional printing processes since waste and process steps are eliminated and energy consumption is reduced,” the company release explained.
The European unit will be managed by Johnny Hobeika, who has previously developed and managed manufacturing, sales, and distribution centers in the United Kingdom and Europe, according to a news release.
According to Hobeika, ePac will have a particular advantage in the European market, where packaging suppliers will have to meet various language needs.
“With the number of countries and languages in Europe, the volume of [varied units] a brand must bring to market can be expensive and time-consuming. … Multi-SKU orders can be rapidly produced in the same print run without printing plates and minimal waste,” Hobeika noted.
Founded in 2016 in Madison, Wis., ePac is a fast-growing packaging company that uses the Hewlett-Packard HP Indigo 20000 digital press as a basis for its business model. The United Kingdom operation will be the company’s 15th.
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