Following the acquisition last March of the British company Essential Supply Products Ltd. By the Italian Lucart, the company will change its name to Lucart Hygiene Ltd.
The switchover will take effect from 10 August 2021. Jonny Wilks, Managing Director of the UK subsidiary, commented: “The change represents an exciting time for us at Blackmore Park. Lucart have an excellent reputation throughout Europe so we are privileged and excited to bring the brand to the UK”.
The changes will only be administrative, with the new trading name Lucart Hygiene Ltd and a new registered office address switching to Blackmore Park. In September, the logo change will also be formalized with the consequent introduction of new product packaging.
Essential Supply Products Ltd now has a turnover of around £26 million per annum. The company, with its head office and production plant in Malvern, employs 85 people on 5 different processing lines. The production facilities cover an area of 77,000 square metres, 15,000 of which are covered. Its acquisition, which came in the midst of the pandemic period, represents the latest step in the Group’s internationalization process.
In a positive development, demand for graphic paper improved during the quarter as a result of renewed global economic activity as countries eased COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Sales volumes in the segment reached 90% of volumes in the pre-COVID equivalent quarter in 2019. The substantial capacity that exited the sector also tightened the market balance. However, profitability in the segment remained under pressure due to spiralling purchased pulp input costs, particularly in Europe, in combination with a lag in selling price increases.
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