International Paper or IP (Memphis, Tenn., USA) is in the process of taking over Envases Grau in Spain, a company with four packaging plants and capacities of around 15,000 tpy.

International Paper continues to grow on the Spanish market. The company, which is currently in talks to take over a plant in Spain from the Rossmann Group, announced at the end of 2018 that it would acquire the Spanish packaging manufacturer Envases Grau. The transaciton value was not disclosed.

Envases Grau is a family-run manufacturer of corrugated board and wooden packaging, especially for fruit and vegetables. The company operates four sites, one each in Tavernes de Valldigna near Valencia and Fraga in Catalonia and two in the province of Huelva not far from Seville. The second plant in Huelva was opened about a year ago. According to International Paper, Envases Grau has a capacity of 15,000 tpy of corrugated board and wooden packaging and employs 70 people.

With the acquisition, International Paper is pursuing its strategy of investing in the corrugated packaging business in the EMEA region. The company is currently in the process of acquiring another packaging plant – the Kadem plant near Barcelona – from the Rossmann Group. Strictly speaking, the transaction is an exchange of assets, with International Paper ceding in return its Creil mill in France to Rossmann. The Kadem plant produces corrugated board packaging with an annual capacity of 100 million m².

International Paper currently operates a total of seven packaging plants in Spain. Since the summer of last year, the company has also been producing corrugated case material in Spain at the former newsprint mill in Madrid.