Part of Impress's Food Division, the plant has been gradually downsized over the past 4-5 years, with the original 150-strong workforce cut to around 55. An Impress statement said the closure of the factory, which produces steel cans for the UK petfood and human food markets, is also "linked to the successful transfer of lines" to the company's 200-strong Sutton-in-Ashfield plant in Nottinghamshire, acquired last summer from Alcan (Packaging Today – September 2005).
Richard Moore, vice-president, strategic development, Impress Group Worldwide, explains: "The Sutton plant also has a long history, serving the human food and petfood markets but also making decorative containers for products like tea, whisky and shortbreads. The Nottinghamshire factory has the major advantage of being equipped with the latest draw/wall/iron (DWI) canmaking technology, which offers significant manufacturing cost savings."
Moore says the Grantham plant has seen its sales to the petfood sector "fall quite dramatically", with the growing UK popularity of dry petfoods, typically sold in pouches or stand-up bags rather than the cans favoured for traditional "wet" petfoods.
The Impress Group also operates another UK factory in Norwich, managed by its Decorative and Protective Finishes division, which produces cans for products like paints and lacquers.
