Morocco: Smurfit Kappa chooses the Cherifian Kingdom to invest 35 million euros in its first factory in Africa and create 300 jobs

Smurfit Kappa, one of the world’s leading paper packaging players, has just started construction work on its first factory in Africa. Covering an area of ​​25,000 m2, it should generate around 300 direct and indirect jobs in the region.

The production will be entirely intended for the consumption of the Moroccan market and will meet the needs of local and multinational customers based in Morocco looking for competitive, innovative and sustainable packaging solutions, delivered quickly and efficiently. Faced with a market where the current demand is greater than that of the supply of corrugated cardboard packaging solutions, the new plant will strengthen the value chain of its customers in Morocco.

Smurfit Kappa’s commercial presence in Morocco dates back to the late 1990s. The company currently has a sales office and a network of assembly plants.

This new factory will reinforce Smurfit Kappa’s presence in the country and will allow it to position itself as the main strategic partner for its customers in a whole series of sectors, such as agriculture, FMCG (consumer goods), automotive, textiles, pharmaceuticals as well as in other industrial markets, such as meat, fish and ceramics. Ignacio Sevillano, CEO of Smurfit Kappa Spain, Portugal and Morocco, points out:

“Smurfit Kappa is very proud to announce the construction of its first corrugated cardboard packaging manufacturing site in the Rabat–Salé–Kénitra Region, Morocco, a country whose culture is very close to the vision and values of our business. This investment is part of Smurfit Kappa’s “think global, act local” approach which combines our integrated global model, expertise and wealth of data with the best knowledge of our team. to understand and satisfy the needs of Moroccan customers“.

And Mounir Naciri, General Manager of Smurfit Kappa Morocco to continue:

“Our presence in the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region allows us to collaborate and work very closely with our customers in Morocco, but with this new packaging plant which will be located in an area with high growth potential, Smurfit Kappa will further contribute to the growth of our customers’ business and allow us to meet their demands for corrugated packaging more quickly. In a market where the number of packaging suppliers is currently limited, this investment will secure the supply and increase local production of these materials, which will translate into added value for customers. The realization of this large-scale project would never have seen the light of day without the support of the local authorities. “

The new factory is expected to be operational from the first quarter of 2023. Smurfit Kappa has more than 355 factories worldwide, spread across 36 countries.