The food and drink packaging specialist bought 270-staff Belfast-based Delta and its new Polish production plant, European Packaging Solutions, with 30 staff, to add board products such as burger clam boxes, fry cartons and flat cartons to its food-to-go packaging, such as cups, lids, plates, bowls and cutlery.
Folded carton food packaging specialist Delta has experienced significant growth under private ownership since it was founded in 1981 and will now become part of Huhtamaki’s Foodservice Europe-Asia-Oceania business segment under the name Huhtamaki Foodservice Delta Ltd.
Delta founder Terry Cross, who was awarded an OBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours list for services to the economy and voluntary service to the community in Northern Ireland, is stepping away from day-to-day operations to become a senior advisor to the group on folding carton packaging matters.
The rest of the Delta management team will remain unchanged and will report to Rosemary Mason, managing director of Huhtamaki’s Foodservice Western Europe and UK division.
She said of the deal: “We are delighted and excited by it and it’s great being here in Belfast with everyone. The products are very much complementary. Here in Europe we don’t have printed folding cartons and we see the products as very much complementary to what we offer today. It’s a very good fit we believe.”
Mason said negotiations took “considerable time” but the acquisition would allow Huhtamaki to enter a new market in Europe and cross-sell to customers of both firms. Delta’s clients include KFC, Kellogg’s, McDonald’s and United Biscuits. In addition, Huhtamaki liked Delta’s focus on innovation and quality of products.
“Delta has a very successful track record; they’ve got a very good reputation in the marketplace and they’ve got some excellent skills and experience in the workforce,” Mason said. “It’s a big acquisition and it’s quite complex so it’s taken some considerable time. Huhtamaki has stated that it’s looking to grow its food packaging around the world. Delta was a key target.”
Mason said there were no immediate plans to make changes in Delta’s 28,000sqm Belfast site, with the aim of softly bedding down the £46m-turnover company within the Finnish group, but added that it would be looking for growth in the future.
There is also not likely to be any consolidation with Huhtamaki’s Lurgan, County Armagh plant, which makes cup carriers, egg cartons and egg trays, or its paper recycling unit in Lisburn, in outer Belfast, which are both part of the group’s Molded Fiber segment and employ more than 200 people in total.
Cross said: “35 years on from our first transaction, now is the time for the company to take the next step in what has been, and what will continue to be, a very exciting journey for the company, our employees and our customers.
“It is the innovation, dedication and hard work of our staff here in Belfast, and at our sister site in Poland, that has captured the attention of a global company such as Huhtamaki which is fantastic for a Northern Ireland company."
The Huhtamaki Group has three business areas – foodservice packaging, flexible packaging and molded fiber packaging – and operates in 34 countries with 71 manufacturing sites and around 16,000 staff. In 2015, it recorded €2.7bn (£2.1bn) in net sales.
Foodservice Europe-Asia-Oceania has 21 plants on four continents, around 4,200 employees and had €670m net sales.
