Huhtamaki, a key global provider of sustainable packaging solutions for consumers around the world, is investing for further growth in Russia. In order to respond to the fast development of the retail business and egg packaging industry in Eastern and Central parts of Russia, the company is setting up a new fiber packaging manufacturing plant at its existing site in Alabuga, Tatarstan. Preparatory work on the site is underway and production of fiber packaging is expected to begin during the first quarter of 2022.
“Russia is one of our key growth markets,” says Eric Le Lay, president for the newly integrated Fiber and Foodservice Europe-Asia-Oceania business segment. “This additional capacity for molded fiber egg packaging enables further profitable growth for us in Russia. The location in Alabuga, Tatarstan, allows us to better serve our customers operating in the fast-developing Central and Eastern parts of Russia.”
Huhtamaki entered the Russian market in 1980 to supply the Moscow Olympics with products manufactured in Finland. Manufacturing operations in Russia began in 1994 in Ivanteevka, near Moscow, where Huhtamaki currently manufactures both foodservice and fiber packaging. The Alabuga unit in Tatarstan began operations in 2016, initially as a paper cup manufacturing site. In 2019 Huhtamaki’s net sales in Russia were EUR 108 million and the company currently employs approximately 700 people across the two manufacturing sites.