At DS Smith, which has its recycling division based in Caerphilly, Peter McGuinness, chief executive of the recycling division, is also to take charge of the company’s paper division.
In a statement, the company said: “As part of our strategic goal to lead the way in recycling, the paper and recycling divisions of DS Smith will be brought under the single leadership of Peter McGuinness, who to date has led the challenge of building a world class recycling division.”
DS Smith is Europe’s largest recycler of paper and card, collecting 5.4 million tonnes of paper a year with mills across Europe in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK producing 2.6 million tonnes of paper annually.
Commenting on the appointment of Mr McGuinness to head both the paper and recycling divisions, DS Smith Group CEO Miles Roberts said: “The markets in which we operate remain very challenging, but I am confident that this management change will provide the leadership and focus required for our continued drive as the leading supplier of recycled packaging.”
Neil Govan
Another appointment at DS Smith sees a new post created covering recycling in the UK, with the appointment of Neil Govan, currently vice president (recyclates) at International Forest Products, as UK sales and purchasing director. A graduate of the University of Exeter, Mr Govan has spent 15 years with International Forest Products, where he also gained experience in the timber sector, and will report directly to Dr Jim Malone, European sales and purchasing director.
Mr Govan will be responsible for all aspects of sales and purchasing for DS Smith within the UK and joins the business on October 13 2014.
Welcoming Mr Govan to the company, Dr Malone said: “We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the full sales and purchasing team for their support and commitment and I look forward to continuing the successful journey and development of DS Smith in the future. Having Neil on board in this position ensures that we are robust enough to focus on our traditional markets whilst at the same time having the capacity to grow our businesses across Europe.”
Smurfit Kappa
At Smurfit Kappa Recycling UK, Simon Weston, who was managing director of the business from May 2005, has left. He is succeeded by Paul Clarke who for the past five years has been the company’s strategic development director for its paper and cardboard recycling business which includes the recovery of cardboard, office papers, plastics and security shredding.
Smurfit Kappa Recycling sources recovered paper for the Smurfit Kappa mills in the UK and on the Continent. In the UK, Smurfit Kappa has paper mills in Birmingham and Kent although the Kent plant at Snodland is undergoing £90 million of investment and refurbishment and will reopen in January 2015. It will take in 500,000 tonnes of material per annum to produce lightweight recycled container board.
The company has said that the investment “will secure the supply of paper for all of Smurfit Kappa’s packaging operations in the UK and Ireland. The new machine will produce lightweight corrugated papers, for use in Smurfit Kappa integrated plants meeting market requirements for high efficiency and sustainable, recycled paper-making .”
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