Statement re Van Mierlo Plant Centenary

Statement re Van Mierlo Plant Centenary

Smurfit Kappa Group PLC

Smurfit Kappa’s Van Mierlo plant celebrates centenary

Smurfit Kappa’s Van Mierlo plant in Belgium is celebrating its 100^th anniversary. The plant, which was founded by entrepreneur Jan Van Mierlo back in 1918, quickly established itself as a leading supplier of corrugated board in Belgium and then extended its reach throughout Europe.

The Van Mierlo plant produces corrugated board and folding carton used for consumer and gift packaging. The products are printed in offset to a high specification using specialised finishing effects like UV, metallic or soft touch to make the brands come alive on the shelf.

Smurfit Kappa’s paper-based packaging is the packaging of choice for many brands that seek a more sustainable, high quality alternative to plastic and is used widely in both the eCommerce and retail sectors.

CEO of Smurfit Kappa Corrugated Benelux, Erik Bunge, said: "The Van Mierlo plant has been an integral part of the local community for a century so we are delighted to celebrate this anniversary. With the combination of our experience, expertise and talented employees we look to the future with confidence.”

The plant celebrated its 100^th anniversary with all its employees in September and will have an event with local authorities, the former Van Mierlo family and many retired employees on November 15^th - the date on which the plant was founded.

The Van Mierlo plant employs 160 employees and is part of Smurfit Kappa’s network of corrugated plants in the Benelux region.

ENDS

Contact for media:

Sinead Gill
Smurfit Kappa
T: [phone]
E:[e-mail]

About Smurfit Kappa
Smurfit Kappa, a FTSE 100 company, is one of the leading providers of paper-based packaging solutions in the world, with around 45,000 employees in approximately 350 production sites across 33 countries and with revenue of €8.6 billion in 2017. We are located in 21 countries in Europe, and 12 in the Americas. We are the only large-scale pan-regional player in Latin America.

With our pro-active team, we relentlessly use our extensive experience and expertise, supported by our scale, to open up opportunities for our customers. We collaborate with forward-thinking customers by sharing superior product knowledge, market understanding and insights in packaging trends to ensure business success in their markets. We have an unrivalled portfolio of paper-packaging solutions, which is constantly updated with our market-leading innovations. This is enhanced through the benefits of our integration, with optimal paper design, logistics, timeliness of service, and our packaging plants sourcing most of their raw materials from our own paper mills.

Our products, which are 100% renewable and produced sustainably, improve the environmental footprint of our customers.

Follow us on Twitter at @smurfitkappa and on LinkedIn at ‘Smurfit Kappa’.

www.smurfitkappa.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005744/en/