The move is the latest bySAICA to help secure feedstock for its Partington paper mill near Manchester, which is due to come on stream in early 2012 (see letsrecycle.com story). It is the third acquisition by SAICA in the past 12 months, following its takeover of Cutts Recycling in July 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story) and Future Ltd in October 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Stirling Fibre is a family-owned business based in central Scotland which was founded in 1977 to serve the Inveresk Paper Co which needed waste paper for its Scottish mills.
The companys founder, John Connor, died in January 2009 aged 65 leaving the business to be run by his son, Forbes Connor.
Today, the company specialises in the trading of recovered paper and plastics sourced from local authorities and businesses. It currently employs 100 people and operates throughout Scotland and Northern England from six sites.
The business will now fall under SAICAs recycling division known as SAICA Natur UK – which will now manage in excess of 400,000 tonnes of waste paper in the UK a year. With the Stirling Fibre acquisition the combined SAICA Natur UK turnover is estimated to be 70 million in 2011.
SAICA holds UK businesses in its three main business areas: manufacturing of recycled papers for packaging (SAICA Paper), through its PM11 project in Partington; corrugated packaging (SAICA Pack UK operates 16 facilities in the UK & Ireland) and waste management (SAICA Natur).
When SAICA Papers recycled paper mill in Partington is fully operational, the company will be able to produce paper and packaging from 100% UK recycled materials. The company said that the recovery of an extra 400.000 tons of UK generated waste would significantly reduce the current outflow of UK waste paper, avoiding hundreds of thousands of tons being shipped to the Far East.
This will significantly reduce CO2 emissions associated with the current exportation of UK-derived recovered papers and importation of paper, it added.
Delighted
Forbes Connor, managing director of Stirling Fibre Group said that his company had always been a huge supporter of the UK paper making industry and that the firm was delighted to become part of one of the largest recyclers of packaging in Europe.
He said: I firmly believe that the Stirling Fibre Group is joining the right organisation and we all look forward to developing and growing SAICA Natur in the UK.
Simon Dymoke, managing director of SAICA Natur in the UK said: I am delighted that SAICA has achieved its strategic goal of guaranteeing the supply of raw materials to PM11 and completing the integration of our business in the UK, ahead of the mill starting production.
Our integrated business model has proven extremely successful in Europe and we looking forward to providing our UK customers with the benefits of SAICAs full product life cycle approach to packaging and waste management.
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