Huhtamaki, Finland, reports that it has completed the sale of its vacated manufacturing facility and related land usage rights in Guangzhou, China, as announced on April 21, 2017. Further, to conclude the consolidation of its foodservice packaging operations in South China, Huhtamaki closed down the manufacturing unit in Shandong, China, impacting some 200 jobs. The product range manufactured in Shandong will in the future be sourced externally. 

In addition, to gain synergies from the recent acquisition (this past summer) of International Paper's foodservice packaging operations in China, consisting of manufacturing units in Tianjin and Shanghai, Huhtamaki has decided to consolidate its manufacturing operations in Tianjin into one unit. All manufacturing operations will be transferred to the unit acquired from IP. Employees currently working at the unit to be closed will be offered equivalent work opportunities at the continuing Tianjin unit. The transfer is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2018.

Related to the above activities, Huhtamaki will book approximately EUR 3 million as items affecting comparability (IAC) in the Foodservice Europe-Asia-Oceania business segment in the fourth quarter of 2017. 

Following the above activities, the Huhtamaki production footprint in China will consist of three efficient and focused foodservice manufacturing units (Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Tianjin), allowing it to support the growth plans of its customers operating in China. 

Huhtamaki is a global specialist in packaging for food and drink. The company has approximately 17,600 employee. In 2016 its net sales totaled EUR 2.9 billion. Additional information is available online.