Record revenues and investment as McLaren Packaging cheers 40th year

Port Glasgow-headquartered McLaren Packaging Group has marked its 40th anniversary with record turnover and investment as it looks to “future-proof” the family-run business.

The Port Glasgow company has just invested 2.2m in new equipment. Picture: Contributed

Established as a supplier of corrugated cases to the whisky industry, the company has, over the years, expanded its operations at six facilities across central Scotland, totalling some 200,000 square feet.

The firm, which was turning over £8 million a decade ago, has now surpassed its target of achieving £20m in revenues by 2020. It now employs some 240 staff and is on track to turn over in excess of £30m in the current financial year.

The company has just invested £2.2m in a new production line to enhance its printing and die-cutting capacity and support the future growth of its corrugate business.

Sales and marketing director Michael McLaren said: “We have just posted two consecutive years of record growth. While that growth can be partly attributed to some exceptional circumstances, we would anticipate that our growth will continue over the next few years, albeit more modestly.

“Over the last five years, 100 per cent of our profits have been reinvested in the business in order to future-proof the company for the years ahead,” he added. “We are a family business and are here for the long-term with our focus fixed firmly on further growth and reinvestment.”

Investments

The recent investments follow the group’s acquisition in February of the assets of Port Glasgow-based Moelle Interlok Packaging, a producer of solid board divisions and layer pads for the drinks, glass and electronics industries, via a newly formed company, Interlok Divisions, following a short administration process.

Interlok Packaging was established by McLaren in 1985 before being sold in 1994. February’s transaction brought the business full circle back into ownership by McLaren, safeguarding 62 jobs.

Last month, McLaren Packaging was involved in the creation of the world’s first sustainable energy generation facility fuelled by organic waste, to provide heat and power for the manufacture of corrugated sheet board.

CorrBoard Bioenergy (CB Bio), which invested £5.5m in the facility, is located adjacent to CorrBoard UK, a consortium-owned corrugated

producer based in Scunthorpe, of which McLaren is part owner.

Last October, Blue Box Design, McLaren Packaging’s sister company’s design and manufacturing facility, was officially opened in Stirling.