Over-capacity and the success of the hole-through-the-wall (HTW) concept has forced packaging giant Tetra Pak to close its poly bottle manufacturing plant in Bracknell.
It is unclear at this stage how many jobs will be lost. Some 63 people are employed at the factory and efforts will be made to transfer as many of them as possible to HTW sites or other parts of the Tetra Pak organisation.
The closure of the plant will occur over two phases. Some 33 people have already left the plant. However, production at the factory will continue until the second quarter of next year.
The closure coincides with the commissioning of a second HTW installation for Scotland-based processor Robert Wiseman Dairies. The plant, near Glasgow, will produce four-pint, two-pint, two-litre and six-pint HDPE bottles for pasteurised milk.
The Bracknell factory is Tetra Pak’s only central HDPE bottle production site. However, the company currently operates four HTW facilities in the UK. Some production from Bracknell will be transferred to these factories.
Tetra Pak Moulded Packaging Systems managing director Charles Brand said: