Robertson Central West is delivering the construction of Pulpex’s first commercial-scale fibre bottle manufacturing facility near Glasgow, which will have capacity to produce 50 million bottles annually.
The £9m construction project involves the development of a new 87,000 sq ft unit within an existing industrial warehouse. The facility is expected to create 36 jobs and will enable Pulpex to move its patented fibre bottle technology from pilot production to industrial-scale manufacturing.
Pulpex has secured £62m in investment from the National Wealth Fund and the Scottish National Investment Bank to support its commercialisation and manufacturing plans. The company currently operates an R&D and pilot production facility in Cambridge and has established partnerships with FMCG businesses including Diageo, Unilever and Kraft Heinz.
The company’s bottles are manufactured by wet-moulding sustainably sourced wood pulp into single-piece containers before drying and applying an internal food-grade coating appropriate for the intended product. Pulpex says the resulting packaging contains no hidden plastic and is designed to be recycled through existing household paper and card recycling streams.
“Our combined team in this focused piece of work, well supported by the broad Robertson network of partners, has shown depth of skill, ingenuity, resilience and used the strength of the local business economy to deliver this key milestone.” said Scott Winston, Managing Director and Chief Science & Sustainability Officer at Pulpex.
The new facility represents a significant step in Pulpex’s plans to commercialise its fibre bottle technology and supply packaging at industrial volumes.
