New division will accelerate acquisitions across the UK’s £8.6bn packaging services sector as demand surges in transit, presentation and consumables categories
Smarter Capital today announced a major strategic development with the appointment of Jeremy Pilgrim as Managing Director of Smarter Packaging, its newly formed vertical dedicated to acquiring and scaling packaging distributors specialising in transit, presentational and consumable packaging.
Report highlights robust 2019-2024 expansion driven by economic and demographic fundamentals and assured future growth
January 2026 — AMI Market Intelligence has released a new report on polyethylene (PE) markets in the Middle East & Africa (MEA). This report offers industry stakeholders and investors a comprehensive analysis of the market dynamics and competitive factors that are influencing the future of PE use in the region.
Zeus Group, one of Europe’s fastest-growing packaging companies, and Engelmann & Buckham (E&B), a leading UK specialist in packaging and processing machinery, are pleased to announce a new strategic collaboration designed to deliver a complete, end-to-end Packaging Automation and Consumables solution for UK businesses.
“We are pioneering PULPUltra™, a game changing next-generation, no-intentionally-added-PFAS formulation that meets both legislative standards and customers’ expectations for superior strength and heat resistance.”
Already introduced in Ireland with bespoke childrens’ meal packaging and in France with the Gastronorme range, Sabert Corporation Europe is now launching its latest innovation, PULPUltra™, across Europe and the UK & Ireland.
Greenback Recycling Technologies (“Greenback”) and Amcor (NYSE: AMCR, ASX: AMC) a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions, welcomed Mary Creagh CBE MP, Nature and Circular Economy Minister, on the 15th of December 2025 to Amcor’s Heanor facility for the official commissioning of the first UK deployment of Greenback’s Enval® advanced recycling module.
Material uses carboxymethyl cellulose and safe crosslinking agents for rapid ocean decomposition.
Plastic incorporates FDA-approved choline chloride plasticizer to achieve flexibility from rigid to elastic.
Team adds polyethylene-imine guanidinium ions creating reversible salt bridges for controlled breakdown.
DS Smith's design team reviewed several single-use plastic packages previously used by Serele Super for its tomato range and developed four fibre-based corrugated cardboard punnets to replace them. The new formats are designed to be compatible with existing production lines and are fully recyclable at the end of life. The punnets are FSC certified and intended to simplify packing operations.
The partnership brings together Zeus’s extensive packaging consumables portfolio and national customer reach with E&B’s technical expertise in automation, materials handling, packaging machinery, and end-of-line systems.
Together, the companies will provide UK manufacturers, logistics operators, food producers, e-commerce fulfilment centres, and industrial businesses with a truly integrated offer—from machinery specification through to ongoing consumables supply and maintenance support.
A Joined-Up Approach to Automation + Consumables
Makar Sankranti is more than just a festival — it is a celebration of transition, renewal, and abundance.
The word “Sankranti” literally means transmigration or transition, referring to the movement of the Sun from one zodiac sign to another in the Hindu calendar. While there are twelve Sankrantis each year, Makara Sankranti is the most significant. It marks the Sun’s entry into the zodiac sign Capricorn (Makara) and signals the end of winter and the arrival of longer, brighter days.
