The Aragonese group Saica, one of the European giants in the paper sector, has announced an investment of more than 100 million euros in Catalonia destined for the construction of a new corrugated cardboard factory in Sant Esteve Sesrovires (Barcelona). The new facilities will allow the unification of the current Saica Pack El Prat and Saica Pack Barcelona plants and will be built in the Can Margarit industrial park, where it currently already has a logistics platform.
According to the family business, which this year celebrates its 80th anniversary, construction of the new factory will begin this summer and the installation of the first machines is planned for the end of 2024. From then on, the transfer of production from the two current production centers, which employ 294 workers, will begin, who will also be offered a transfer to the new factory in Baix Llobregat.
"The new plant will be equipped with the latest digital technology and will allow the company to accompany its clients in their growth, satisfy changing market needs and overcome current space limitations," Saica explained in a statement. "This investment also represents an important reinforcement of the Saica Group for its presence and long-term commitment to the main national packaging market and its Catalan clients," added the company, currently led by the third generation.
"Our growth potential in this new location, which was limited by lack of space in our current plants, is very high," said Miguel Arévalo, project manager and managing director of Saica Pack El Prat. According to the executive, "it has not been easy to develop a plot of these dimensions, at this distance from Barcelona." "By size and technology, the new plant will be a national and European benchmark in the sustainable packaging sector," he stressed.
Chaired by Ramón Alejandro Balet, Saica is a multinational company with more than 10,000 employees that in 2022 reached a turnover of 4,394 million euros, making it the main company in Aragon. With more than one hundred factories, the paper group has an annual production capacity of 3.3 million tons and is present in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Turkey, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United States and Poland. In addition to manufacturing recycled paper for corrugated cardboard (Saica Paper), the company has three other business areas: waste management and environmental services (Saica Natur), corrugated cardboard packaging production (Saica Pack) and flexible packaging (Saica Flex).