Australian Paper has announced 2 key initiatives to expand its envelope and paper manufacturing in both WA and Victoria.
Australian Paper has announced 2 key initiatives to expand its envelope and paper manufacturing in both WA and Victoria.
“We are pleased to have finalised an agreement with Envelope Specialists to expand our WA operations,” said Peter Williams, COO, Australian Paper.
“The agreement includes the purchase of manufacturing equipment and stock from Envelope Specialists to provide additional operating capacity for our Australian envelope manufacturing business. Customers will be able to place their orders with Australian Paper from January 2016.
“In line with global trends, Australian envelope volumes are continuing to decline due to the ongoing impact of e-commerce and changing technology,” said Williams. “As a market leader in stationery and office paper supplies, we are pursuing growth opportunities in Australia and New Zealand to consolidate our position and maintain production efficiencies in our major facilities at Preston and Maryvale in Victoria.
“The agreement with Envelope Specialists will enable us to bring back to Australia 50 million envelopes per annum that are currently being manufactured overseas. This is also an important opportunity to secure additional envelope paper volume for our Maryvale Mill.”
Australian Paper also announced it’s installing a W&D Classic Envelope folding machine in its Preston operation to better service the Direct Mail market for improved flexibility.
“The Direct Mail segment is one of the few growth areas in the envelope category,” said Williams. “The W&D Classic will enable high quality envelope production at a cost effective price allowing us to better serve our customers and further grow our share, maintaining volumes at our Preston manufacturing plant in a declining market. We are also investigating the installation of a second machine once the Classic is fully operational.”
Australian Paper is Australia’s largest manufacturer of paper and envelopes, supporting almost 6,000 jobs directly and indirectly nationally, and contributing over $750 million annually to Australia’s GDP (Western Research Institute, Economic Impact Report, Australian Paper 2012).