Saica Group’s Corrugated Packaging Manufacturing Facility, Hamilton, Ohio, US

Saica Group has completed its first North American manufacturing facility in Hamilton, Ohio. Credit: Saica.

Saica Flex received a BRC Packaging Certificate in February 2017. Credit: Saica.

The new facility is located in the Hamilton Enterprise Park in the City of Hamilton near Cincinnati, Ohio. Credit: Saica.

Saica Monoflex is a 100% recyclable cover created solely from PET. Credit: Saica.

Nature Kraft is the company’s 100% recycled paper range suitable for dry food contact. Credit: Saica.

Saica’s Hamilton facility can produce 1,500 million ft² of corrugated board a year. Credit: Saica.

Saica Group announced its first North American corrugated packaging manufacturing facility, located in Hamilton, Ohio, US, in July 2020.

Saica has invested approximately $72m in the facility, which began operations in April 2022 and will create 64 new jobs in the region over the next three years.

Saica’s investment in Hamilton was supported by state and local incentives. The State of Ohio approved a Job Creation Tax Credit in June 2020, while JobsOhio provided a JobsOhio Economic Development Grant and JobsOhio Workforce Grant to support the project.

Saica Group’s manufacturing facility location and details

The new facility is located in the City of Hamilton’s Hamilton Enterprise Park, approximately 42km away from Cincinnati.

Hamilton was selected as the location due to its easy accessibility from the rest of the Midwest. In addition to being in close proximity to Saica’s potential clients, the state of Ohio also offered the infrastructure, supply chain, talented workforce and advanced manufacturing capabilities that were required.

The state-of-the-art production facility extends across a 360,000ft² area in the Hamilton Enterprise Park.

It includes spaces for manufacturing, converting and production, along with a warehouse and office. It has a production capacity of more than 1,500 million ft² of corrugated board a year.

The plant has a corrugator, four-colour 50in x 110in folder gluer, four-colour rotary die cutter and Vega speciality gluer.

Squire Patton Boggs provided advisory services to Saica Group for the project. The group also collaborated with REDI Cincinnati, JobsOhio, the City of Hamilton and the Ohio Development Services Agency for the development.

The new corrugated packaging manufacturing facility will enable the City of Hamilton to attract new manufacturing operations to the region. The selection of the Cincinnati region for the facility will also provide motivation for the City of Hamilton to prepare new sites for future investment.

The average annual payroll for the jobs created at the facility is estimated to be $4.7m.

The development of the facility is part of the company’s strategy to expand in the US market under its ‘Saica 2025’ plan, which includes strategic acquisitions and construction of new plants. The company plans to invest $800m in the next five years under the plan.

Second phase development of the facility

In the second phase of development, Saica will expand the facility with the addition of two converting machines, a four-colour 36in Bobst Flexo Folder Gluer and two-colour 66in Bobst Rotary Die Cutter. The expansion will increase the facility’s production capacity.

Construction work on the second phase is scheduled to begin in late 2022 and expected to be completed by the second half of 2023.

Sustainable developments by the company

Saica provides sustainable and economical solutions to produce paper and recycled packaging that manage waste.

In December 2017, Saica introduced Monoflex, a 100% recyclable transparent tray and cover. It is produced solely from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to maintain and enhance the functional properties of the cover, providing customers with improved transparency for greater visibility. The company also introduced GreenHeart, the first flexible recycled low-density polyethylene film (LDPE) plastic packaging for industrial use.

In October 2018, Saica Natur collaborated with Repsol to maximise the use of LDPE waste. The main objective of the collaboration was to achieve long-term sustainability. In June 2019, the company launched a detergent tablet pouch that was developed using 45% recycled polyethylene for waste management.

Saica Group opened its first biomass plant in Venizel, France, in September 2019. The new equipment in the plant has contributed to a 71% decline in CO₂ emissions and reduced natural gas consumption at the plant by 89%.

In December 2019, Saica collaborated with Iveco and Carreras for a pilot project to use liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel for long and mid-distance cargo transportation. The project is a part of the Lean & Green initiative, which aims to decrease supply chain CO₂ emissions by 20% in five years.

Saica Group also expanded its Nature Kraft product portfolio, a 100% recycled and sustainable paper range, in July 2020.

Marketing commentary on Saica Group

Founded in 1943, Saica (Sociedad Anónima Industrias Celulosa Aragonesa) is a packaging material manufacturing company based in Zaragoza, Spain. It is one of the largest European companies in the development and production of recycled paper for corrugated packaging.

The company has four business areas, namely Saica Paper, Saica Natur, Saica Pack and Saica Flex.

Saica Group employs more than 10,000 individuals across France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the UK, Turkey, Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

It diversified its business through the acquisition of cardboard packaging (Saica Pack) and integrated waste management (Saica Natur) plants in 1975, followed by flexible packaging plants (Saica Flex) in 2015.