Green Rock Group opens new manufacturing facilitiets

Green Rock Group has opened new manufacturing facilities on the Whitegate Industrial Estate in Wrexham.

The provider of fully recyclable paper cups and lids said the seven-figure investment will help meet the demand for fully sustainable, UK manufactured paper cups as well as allow the business to extend its product range to include all food to go paper packaging products.

The new facilities are to be officially opened by Wrexham Member of the Senedd, Lesley Griffiths, who is also the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales and Trefnydd, in the Welsh Government.

The opening means the company will have six manufacturing facilities based in Wrexham spanning more than 100,000 sq ft. The company has already created 50 jobs in the past three months and has plans to grow the number of employees to more than 100 by the end of the year.

The company’s innovative paper cups are manufactured using aqueous coated materials, eliminating the need for polyethylene (PE) or polylactic acid (PLA) linings, which means the products can be composted or recycled.  Being manufactured in the UK also means they have a lower carbon footprint compared to cups manufactured overseas.

The significant investment in its Wrexham facilities allows the business to meet the demand for its products as well as increase the company’s capacity and capabilities. The site will grow from 70 machines dedicated to the manufacture of paper cups and two dedicated to paper lids, to more than 84 high speed machines in total.

Steve Granville, managing director of Green Rock Group, said the exponential growth and demand for sustainable paper products has allowed the company to make further significant investments in our Wrexham facilities.

“This is a significant milestone for the business and allows us to meet the strong demand there is for our UK made products.  We’re excited about the year ahead as we look to building on this growth and lead the sector in terms of innovation, capability and growth,” Granville said.

The new facilities will expand the manufacturing capacity to produce paper cups for hot and cold drinks as well as paper lids.  The new facilities will also allow the business to produce all food to go paper packaging products including bags, napkins and food trays.  The company also has a manufacturing capability for paper straws.

From October 2022 the company launch its new espresso cup and also the range of vending cups.

Green Rock works with strategic partners across the whole supply chain, Just Peel who manage sales, Mcarthy Distribution on Logistics, Herbert Walker and the Graphics factory on Print and Design, and Denmaur/Delipac on supply.

By not using traditional PE or PLA linings, the company’s products are easily recyclable and compostable. The  Delipac paperboard follows years of ground-breaking research and development. The product is specifically designed for use in food and drink packaging where full sustainability is required. The fully compliant products can be used from freezer to oven and are EU and FCA approved for direct food and drink contact.

The Green Rock Group’s products are fully recyclable in any paper waste stream, compostable, and fully biodegradable.  The products are Flustix certified as plastic free and are legally compliant with the EU single use plastic regulation.

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