Said to be a "market leading" manufacturer of printed folding cartons and patient information leaflets, Medica employs 170 at its Crewe site, has a £12m turnover and claims a 10% share in its chosen market. Founded in the 1920s, the company opted to focus exclusively on the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors in the 1980s. Having gone through an MBO in 1993, it has invested £4m in a new in-line production facility and additional manufacturing space since 2002. Its customers include AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline.
Benson Box says it will be "business as usual" at Medica, with all 170 jobs safe and future growth envisaged. Benson md Mark Kerridge says the £25m turnover, 223-strong company, which has predominantly served the food sector to date, has been "keen to establish a firmer foothold in the healthcare carton market for some time".
He adds: "The volume of packaging supplied to the healthcare sector is second only to food in the UK. Success here, particularly in the packaging of ethical products, is the domain of specialists. While we had looked at building our own expertise, the chance of working with one of the best firms in the field is a great option."
Benson expects to produce over 750m cartons this year.
