In July, the operation leading to the merger of two big multinational companies in the paper and packaging sector, Smurfit Kappa and Westrock, became official. We talk about it with the Gianluca Castellini leading the Italian company
Two big multinationals in the paper and cardboard sector, Smurfit Kappa and WestRock, have created a global merger that leads to the creation of the largest global producer of sustainable paper and packaging. Smurfit Kappa is a multinational company based in Dublin, Ireland, with 355 production sites around the world and a strong presence in Europe, employing 46 thousand people in 36 countries. WestRock, on the other hand, is based in the United States in Atlanta, has a presence mainly in North America and employs over 50 thousand people in 11 countries in 4 continents.
Since last July 5, the combination of the two companies has created the first group in the world in the sector, with a total turnover of over 32 billion dollars and operations in over 500 factories in 40 countries around the world. The headquarters of the new company will be in Dublin, under the leadership of Tony Smurfit, actual number one of Smurfit Kappa.
Face to face with Gianluca Castellini, CEO of the new Italian reality
What are the overall dimensions in terms of paper and packaging production?
“The new reality has incredible numbers for the sector: 24 million tons of paper production capacity, 20 million tons of packaging production capacity, over 123 thousand hectares of forests from which to draw the virgin fiber raw material, 15 million tons of recycled fiber paper collection. The union of these two companies undoubtedly represents an epochal step in the packaging industry scenario because the new Group will have truly global coverage, with operational activities on all continents, sharing expertise, talent and experience of over 100 thousand people”.
What impact will the birth of Smurfit Westrock have on our country?
“The new Group will operate in Italy through the existing organization of Smurfit Kappa, which is already present with 26 operational sites, covering the entire paper and cardboard supply chain: 2 paper mills, 18 cardboard production plants and packaging solutions paper-based (sheets, boxes, cases, tubes), 2 sites dedicated to displays, a recycling plant, a hub dedicated to bag-in-box solutions. The Group’s General Management is in Alessandria and the Group boasts a renowned Innovation Center in Pastrengo, in the Veronese area. Thanks to the merger, the Group will be able to further increase the availability of raw materials in Italy too, coming directly from the Americas, ensuring full control of its supply chain and making itself autonomous with respect to fluctuations in paper availability and prices. Furthermore, it will be able to further broaden its commercial offering to customers, particularly in the consumer packaging sector, where WestRock has always been a leader in both the production of cases and the creation of packing machines. The Smurfit Westrock Group will therefore be even more of a point of reference in Italy for the design and creation of paper-based solutions, the eco-sustainable material par excellence, being by nature recyclable, reusable and biodegradable”.
As regards customer, what will be the benefits for them?
“We have always supported our customers in Italy with innovative solutions capable of enhancing their products and the important brands they represent. With the birth of the Smurfit Westrock Group, our ability will become even more important, being able to benefit from the expertise of an even broader global network of designers and innovation specialists. Our overall product portfolio will be even broader and more complete, capable of satisfying any present or future need of our customers, at a time when packaging has become a real sales and differentiation tool. Finally, we will continue to develop our Better Planet Packaging initiative, which aims to replace plastic packaging and other materials with a high environmental impact with our paper-based solutions. And in this way, we will be able to support our customers even more in that ecological transition that no one can ignore if we really want to improve the planet we leave to our children. Starting with a simple box”.
