Factory move brings new jobs to Yate

MORE than 130 new jobs will be created in Yate when a packaging company moves its factory to the town.

Graphic Packaging International has announced plans to move from its current site in Bristol to a building on the Great Western Business Park, which was previously used as a supermarket distribution centre, by Morrisons and then Sainsbury's.

The US-owned firm, which makes cartons, cups and other containers for the food and drink industry, currently employs 230 people at a site in Filwood Road, Fishponds, where it has been based for more than 100 years.

But it says the current factory, which was built in the 1930s is "no longer fit for purpose, hampering expansion and job creation".

The US-owned firm says it has now secured a long-term lease on a 250,000 sq ft building in Armstrong Way and will move in this year.

As well as relocating its 230 existing workers, Graphic Packaging International says the move will allow it to expand its operations, creating 134 new additional jobs "in the medium term" and bringing the total number of workers on the site to 364.

Graphic Packaging

International general manager Martin Sheppard said: "We’ve planned this move for a long time and – finally – have secured a bespoke building on a longterm lease that will allow us to invest in significant growth that will create 100 new jobs in the medium term.

“Our Filwood Road site sits in the middle of a mainly residential area, with a primary school among our nearest neighbours.

"Running a large industrial business – with lots of HGVs coming in and out throughout the day – is not ideal."

The company's new home was built in 1984 and was the biggest cold store in Europe at the time.

It was used by both Morrisons and Sainsbury's but was empty for several years before undergoing a £6 million renovation and being renamed Titan.

Graphic Packaging International is planning to sell its current site to a developer and has unveiled outline proposals to build 260 new houses and flats on the site, part of a wider scheme called Atlas Place to transform a large area of Fishponds with more than 1,000 new homes.

The business's roots in Bristol go back to 1844, when predecessor ES&A Robinson was founded making paper bags for grocery shops.

It became part of the Dickinson Robinson Group (DRG), one of the world's largest stationery and packaging companies, in 1966, and was later part of Rexam.

Current owner Graphic Packaging is based in Atlanta, Georgia.