Fire engulfs Smurfit Kappa packaging plant
The FTSE 100 company has suffered after a fiery blaze destroyed 8,000 tonnes of stock
Shining a spotlight on the industry
Wednesday, 15 Jun 2022 12:29 GMT
Firefighters committed to fighting the fire over several days to reduce further damage or pollution
Image: West Midlands Fire Service
Manufacturer of paper and packaging, Smurfit Kappa, has witnessed the destruction of large amounts of stock at its Paper Mill site in Birmingham.
West Midlands Fire Service was called to the incident at Mount Street, Nechells, Birmingham at 7.40pm on Sunday June 12th.
Following the blaze, media outlets reported shares in the company fell a further 2% after a share drop of 28% in the past year.
In a statement Smufit Kappa says: “At approximately 19.40 BST yesterday evening a fire broke out in an adjacent premises to the Smurfit Kappa SSK Paper Mill in Birmingham. High winds carried the fire which reached the mill’s recovered fibre yard.”
The Fire Service had more than 30 fire appliances in attendance in the height of the incident, with 110 firefighters, and 20 fire engines attending.
Thankfully there have been no reports of casualties at the incident with Smufit Kappa stating: “The paper mill itself is unaffected and we do not expect any material impact on production.”
Fire crews continued to fight the blaze and monitor the situation, working overnight, updating the public on June 14th at 9.37am regarding the clean-up and diversion of polluted water.
“Smurfit Kappa would like to thank both West Midlands Fire Service staff and the SSK team for their swift and professional response in controlling the fire within a few hours and ensuring the safety of all,” the company adds.
Smurfit Kappa is an Ireland-based paper packaging producer with two UK mills. The company produces around 500-700 tonnes of packaging paper every day. Before the blaze many product lines were already effected by recent demand.
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