Toilet paper company on a roll after £6m boost
A WELSH toilet roll company is to expand and create 50 news jobs following £6m in funding from the Welsh Government.
WEPA UK is using the investment to supports expansion plans, which are expected to create around 54 jobs – as well as safeguarding hundreds more – at its Maesteg site.
Economy Minister Ken Skates said the funding from the Welsh Government’s Economy Futures Fund will be crucial in seeing the firm’s site developed into a fully integrated papermill, doubling production.
A new paper machine will enable the company, which is one of the leading suppliers of household paper in the UK, to produce an additional 65,000 tons a year of toilet paper and kitchen towels for the British market.
The announcement comes as the Welsh Government this week launched its Economic Resilience and Reconstruction Mission which sets out how it will work to rebuild Wales’ post-Covid economy so that it values and prioritises wellbeing, drives prosperity, is environmentally sound, and helps every person in Wales to realise their potential.
Mr Skates said: “WEPA is a vitally important employer in the region, and the £6m the Welsh Government is investing will be crucial in supporting the local economy at what continues to be an incredibly difficult time.
“I am delighted that our investment will help the business create good-quality jobs as the volume and variety of products produced by the business increases.”
Tony Curtis, the joint managing director of WEPA UK Ltd, said the company had worked with the Welsh Government on the project since the concept was first considered and it was grateful for the support.
“During such unprecedented times as these, this is a fantastic development for our UK business, particularly for the local community in which we operate, our UK-wide customers and our employees who can now plan for the future with increased confidence,” Mr Curtis said.
“This investment provides state of the art additional production capacity with an important quality upgrade to our product offering; it will also drive our site operations to the leading edge of sustainability in our industry.
“The project offers employment protection for our existing workforce of over 270 Bridgend employees and also creates more than 50 additional jobs at the site.”
President of motor technology specialist Control Techniques, Anthony Pickering says planning has helped the Powys-based company cope with the changes. “We export to 77 countries, and have 26 sales offices around the world, so we had to be well prepared for the transition out of the EU. This meant going to our suppliers and making sure they were ready, and having contingency plans in place – for example, if the port at Dover became blocked.
“Planning has been the root cause of our success since January 1, because we’re reliant on our supply chain. Our factories are full – we’re absolutely flat out, with orders coming out of our ears. We’ve not missed a beat, and our business is continuing to evolve. There are some delays – items that would take two days to come from Europe are now taking two weeks – but I think it will figure itself out.”