Packaging firm Cullen unwrapping 120 new jobs due to multi-million-pound expansion of Glasgow base

The business has announced that it is investing £15 million of its own funds into a new innovation and design hub and additional factory to meet “soaring” global demand for its moulded fibre and corrugated cardboard alternatives to single-use plastic packaging.

Cullen, whose clients include the NHS, Morrisons, Asda, Aldi, Lidl, M&S, McDonald’s, Costa Coffee, and Greggs, said the move will expand the physical site to 14 acres, and means it can double its current annual output.

Cullen owner David MacDonald says the expansion enables the firm to deliver more than a billion eco-friendly products per year. Picture: Andrew Cawley.

Its products include supermarket avocado trays, coffee shop cup carriers, and healthcare products made of moulded fibre created on site, to more intricate bespoke packaging for, say, wine and high-end electricals, while jobs being created range from product design to engineers and operators of its in-house manufactured, bespoke machines that power its 15 production lines.

The firm’s owner David MacDonald branded its expansion plans “hugely exciting”, adding: “The world’s biggest companies, across multiple industries, are looking to moulded fibre to solve many of their sustainability challenges faster than seems possible.

"The expansion further enhances our ability, enabling Cullen to deliver more than one billion compostable and recyclable products per year. That makes us almost unique, globally… We have customers in over 34 countries, and our exports have tripled in the last five years.

"Across the whole business we have grown exponentially and expect that growth to continue at pace. I’m glad to be able to continue to increase game-changing capacity in our Scottish home.”