London-Based DS Smith Continues Expansion in North America
DS Smith plc, a leading provider of sustainable packaging, has announced its further expansion in North America with the opening of its new headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Its growth into the North American market follows its acquisition of Interstate Resources and Corrugated Container Corporation, and The Display Connection.
The company’s momentum and leadership in environmental and sustainability stewardship in Europe offers a launchpad for its expansion in North America and comes at a time when consumers seek more options for sustainable packaging.
DS Smith’s closed-loop recycling model – where paper and corrugated is collected, recycled and then used again to make packaging materials – has proven successful in Europe, helping the company to manage more than 5 million tons of recyclable materials every year. The company’s expansion into North America is a response to global and local customer requests for similar sustainable packaging solutions in North America.
“We’ve always thrived on finding innovative ways to help customers achieve more for less — sell more, reduce costs, manage risk and complexity in their supply chain,” said Miles Roberts, Global CEO of DS Smith. “For years, we’ve helped companies across industries — from pharma and consumer packaged goods to retail and e-commerce — to redefine packaging across the world, and this expansion marks a key milestone in our journey to bring our innovative business model to the U.S.”
DS Smith recently reinforced its commitment to the circular economy when it announced a global partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a global thought leader in accelerating the transition to a circular economy. The partnership will advance DS Smith’s influence in the circular economy and support innovation across the business, including pilots focusing on urban recycling and carbon-efficiency in e-commerce.
“We see a major opportunity to redefine packaging for the U.S. using our closed-loop system and heritage as a leading innovator in Europe. Our new Atlanta headquarters will help us with that effort,” said Jim Morgan, President and CEO of DS Smith North America. “Atlanta is a global hub of activity for the packaging industry and we’re excited to bring competitive, challenging career opportunities to this particular market, while having access to some of the country’s top talent.”
The headquarters announcement is the most recent expansion announcement for DS Smith in North America in 2019. The first, a groundbreaking milestone for a Greenfield facility in Lebanon, Ind., took place in January. The new headquarters facility is located in the vibrant Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta and will serve more than 50 employees in DS Smith’s sales, marketing, finance, legal and technical departments. In addition to the Greenfield facility development in Indiana and its headquarters announcement, the company plans to announce additional Greenfield sites and will open its first recycling depot in the near term.
As part of the expansion in North America, the company is also growing its U.S.- based team. In the first half of 2019, DS Smith added a number of new leaders to its North America Packaging and Paper team and has plans to continue to grow.
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