Leading paper-based packaging company Smurfit Kappa has inaugurated a new integrated corrugated plant in Rabat, Morocco, marking the company’s first operation in North Africa. The Dublin-headquartered company has invested around 4.7 billion euros over the last five years to support its customers and capitalize on its long-term growth drivers.
Besides the country’s strategic location that enables Smurfit Kappa to serve wider regions in Africa, Morocco offers an exciting opportunity, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) forecasting a 3.5% growth rate in 2023 and 3.7% in 2024 against the backdrop of easing global economic tensions and recovery of foreign demand for goods and services.
The Group has invested over 35 million euros in the 25,000-square-metre facility, which was completed from ground-break to operation in a short span of seven months and will support 400 direct and indirect jobs. It will serve domestic Moroccan businesses and global companies across various industries including agriculture, automotive, ceramics, consumer goods, fish and meat, pharmaceuticals, and textiles. It also features the newest Experience Centre, part of a network of 30 centres worldwide, which showcase the latest innovations in packaging solutions.
The 1,500-odd solar panels that will power the new plant makes it Morocco’s first packaging facility to be supplied by green energy, ensuring that the process is equally sustainable as the product, saving 55% of electricity and 900 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The packaging plant also has a purification and water treatment system that reduces consumption by 50%.
Tony Smurfit, Group CEO, says, “Our first corrugated operation in North Africa is an exciting step for Smurfit Kappa and we’re delighted to unveil our state-of-the-art facility in Morocco. We continue to innovate and give our customers a great product in a sustainable way. We’re combining our global scale and expertise with our local team’s best-in-class knowledge to provide the best service to our customers. Morocco’s geographical location complements our operations in Europe and adds to our global footprint which is a competitive advantage.”
Mounir Naciri, General Manager, Smurfit Kappa Morocco, adds, “The opening of the new state-of-the-art Moroccan plant is a proud moment for Smurfit Kappa as it marks our first corrugated board operation in Africa. Through the new factory, we aim to strengthen the company’s position in Morocco and Africa, making us a reliable and strategic partner for customers, particularly in the agriculture and food industries, and to help them enhance productivity and improve marketing. We seek to increase the supply and local production of sustainable packaging solutions that will bring greater value to local Moroccan products.”
Commercially present in Morocco since the late 1990s, the Irish company also has a sales office and a network of manufacturing facilities in Larache, Mediouna, Sidi-Bibi, and Tangier.
