The company, which produces packaging for the diary and food service sectors, said the cash would create 26 new jobs and safeguard 145 of the existing 227 jobs at the Blackwood site in south Wales.
“It increases our capacity and capability which is important for the medium term development of the business,” said managing director Lorenzo Angelucci. “It means we can maintain our momentum and provide an even better service to customers.”
He added that the Welsh operation had secureed the investment from its Italian parent company with the support from the Welsh Assembly Government.
Second round of investment
SEDA has already invested £2.5m in a new production line for cartons and in a state of the art high quality high-speed printing machine. Ieuan Wyn Jones, Welsh Minister for the Economy and Transport, welcomed the investment.
“It will ensure the company retains its competitive edge and enable it to provide a one-stop-shop service to its blue chip clients,” he said. “The Assembly Government supported the company’s initial decision to invest in Wales in 2004 and an expansion project it undertook in 2008, both of which have created jobs and made a significant impact on the local economy.”
The SEDA Group is a privately owned European manufacturer of packaging and cartons, predominantly to the fast food, ice cream and dairy markets. It supplies major food manufacturers and suppliers, including McDonalds, Coca Cola, Nestlé and Unilever. The business has grown from a small company in Naples in 1964 providing ice packaging, to eleven manufacturing plants in Europe employing nearly 2000 people.