International plastics packaging producer Coveris Holdings Corp. is investing 10 million euros ($10.6 million) to upgrade and expand flexible packaging capacity for the pet food sector at three of its French plants.
The latest project by Coveris Flexibles France involves the purchase of additional production equipment at industrial sites in Firminy, Montfaucon and Campine — in the Loire and Haute-Loire regions, the Chicago-based group revealed.
New equipment will include a co-extruder, printing press, a laminator, a laser cutter and bag making machines. This is aimed at improving the division's extrusion and printing of packaging dedicated to wet and dry pet foods.
Installation of the additional machinery is set to be delivered and installed at the French plants between the end of this year and mid-2016, according to Coveris. The capacity expansion, prompted by rising demand in the European pet foods market, will lead to the creation of 30 new jobs in the region.
“Coveris Flexibles France is a centre of excellence, renowned for its expertise in extrusion and film printing as well as the manufacture of high performance products for the pet food market.
“We are investing to improve our know-how, further improve our relationships with our clients and pursue our ambitious plan for growth,” explained Philippe Langelier, director of Coveris Flexibles France.
The French pet foods packaging market is growing rapidly with ownership of 63 million pets and French people spending 4.3 billion euros ($4.5 billion) on pet foods last year. The market is heavily influenced by changing fashions with a noticeably stronger trend in "premium" products, according to Coveris.
It said that the dry products and ‘snacks and treats' divisions are booming with an increase in volume of 15 percent.
Coveris Flexibles France currently has 320 employees at the three sites set for investment.