Expanding Irish corrugated group Zeus has acquired Weedon, a £30 million UK business with plants in Hednesford and Manchester. It has 250 employees and has ridden the wave of ecommerce growth, corrugated replacing plastics and higher value retail products. It installed a six-colour Weipong RDC at the Hednesford site 18 months ago.
The acquisition takes Zeus to annual revenues in the region of £560 million and continues an acquisitions led growth strategy. It comes at a time of mega mergers between Smurfit Kappa and WestRock and between International Paper and DS Smith, representing businesses pushing up to rival their larger competitors.
Zeus CEO Keith Ockenden acknowledges this saying: “Zeus is dedicated to offering customers an independent alternative supply option from a globally positioned independent business focused on service and supply chain solutions within the packaging sector.”
Managing director John Weedon, 66, who runs the business with brother Peter, says that Zeus is a good fit. He explains: “When taking the decision to sell the business, it was important we aligned with a business looking to invest and grow in the paper and corrugated sector. The entire range of Zeus’s capabilities will complement our existing customer base, and as a combined business, we will offer a strong ‘independent’ alternative for those looking for packaging innovation, supply consolidation and supply chain efficiency.”
Zeus acquired Swanline and sister company Boxmart in June 2022, also in Staffordshire, and has completed a further three acquisitions worldwide during 2023. It has since installed a new Bobst folder gluer and die cutter for Swanline.
A key driver for the acquisition is the conviction that fibre based packaging has a strong future as brands look to replace plastic. It will also help its customers reduce their Scope 3 carbon emissions says Ockenden. “Our commitment to the Science Based Targets Initiative has put us on a path to net zero by 2050. While we continue to work on reducing our own Scope 3 emissions, our technical based sustainability teams work with our account managers to support our customers in achieving their own sustainability goals.”
