Smurfit Kappa Invests €35M in First African Factory, Creating 300 Jobs in Morocco

The 35 million euro project will create some 300 direct and indirect jobs in the region. The corrugated cardboards produced at the Rabat plant will be exclusively for the Moroccan market in order to meet the needs of local and multinational clients who demand competitive, innovative and sustainable packaging solutions.

In a market where the demand is currently higher than the supply of corrugated cardboard packaging solutions, the opening of the new plant will improve the value chain for its customers in Morocco, explains the company, which has been present in Morocco since the late 1990s. This new plant will strengthen Smurfit Kappa’s position in the kingdom and allow it to forge strategic partnerships with clients from various sectors such as agriculture, automotive, textiles, pharmaceuticals, fishing, etc.

To read: Repsol and Ravago to Build Major Automotive Polypropylene Plant in Morocco

"Smurfit Kappa is extremely proud to announce the construction of its first corrugated cardboard packaging plant in the Rabat, Salé, Kénitra region, in Morocco. A country whose culture is very close to the vision and values of our company. This investment is part of Smurfit Kappa’s ’think global, act local’ approach..." said Ignacio Sevillano, CEO of Smurfit Kappa Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

For his part, Mounir Naciri, Managing Director of Smurfit Kappa Morocco, added that this new plant "will further contribute to the development of the company and will allow us to respond more quickly to customer demands". The new Rabat plant is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2023. Smurfit Kappa currently has more than 355 plants in 36 countries.