NEW jobs and investment are expected to flow from the sale of a food packaging plant at Thurgoona.
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Finnish multinational Huhtamaki this month sold the expanded polystyrene packaging business to Australian firm, Pact Group.
Site manager Garry Clancey welcomed the sale as a positive development for the factory and its 40 employees.
“Over the coming months, Pact Group will look to get to know the business better and part of this will be looking at ways to expand production at the site,” he said.
“Pact Group is an Australian company with a history of investing in Australian manufacturing.
“The sale keeps the Albury plant operating and through Pact Group’s other investments in packaging, access to a broad range of customers and technologies for these products.”
Mr Clancey was unable to indicate how many jobs might be created under the planned expansion, but said it had helped boost confidence among existing staff.
“Our business over the last few years has been under a lot of pressure,” he said.
“Having growth in any business is a good sign and if we’ve got potential for growth, then that gives us some longevity.
“Everyone from myself to all my production staff are very excited about the prospects.”
The factory was sold to a subsidiary of Pact Group, Snopak Manufacturing, for EU5 million ($A8.97 million).
Mr Clancey said the factory was established in 1992 and distributes products along the eastern seaboard.
Annual net sales of the site is about EU7 million.
Mr Clancey said the site had continued to operate as normal following the official handover on July 1.
“The name of the business has changed from Huhtamaki to Snopak Manufacturing,” he said.
“Otherwise it is business as usual, with operations continuing as they were before the sale.”
