DS Smith Acquires Middleton Recycling Division

 

DS Smith, London, U.K., this week confirmed its acquisition of the Recycling Division of U.K.-based Middleton Paper for an undisclosed sum. Middleton Paper’s Recycling Division currently generates some 9,000 metric tpy of fiber, and deals with a wide range of paper and paperboard grades. Middleton Paper remains an independent merchant and converter based in Walsall, West Midlands. It has been established for 38 years and is part of the Middleton Group.

 

Peter McGuinness, CEO of DS Smith, Recycling Division, said that "the Birmingham region is a key industrial and commercial area and the purchase of Middleton Recycling will allow us to target material and grow our presence here. It is a strategic fit for growing our business and extends our coverage in the area."

 

As the largest fiber recycler in Europe, DS Smith recovers about 5.4 million metric tons of paper and packaging annually for recycling. Recovered packaging (and other fiber grades) provide the raw materials used in production by the Group’s papermaking operations.

 

DS Smith is part of a multinational group employing more than 20,000 people with revenue exceeding £4 billion. It is the largest integrated paper and packaging company in the UK and the second largest packaging company in Europe. The Recycling Division provides the collection infrastructure to recover packaging and supplies it to the Packaging Division for further use.

 

Last year DS Smith Plc unified its global operations under one brand, DS Smith. This brought together the four main pillars of operation, Paper, Packaging, Recycling, and Plastics, to align customer offerings under one purpose that reflects the major transformation the company has gone through in the past few years.