Sustainable development and engineering consultancy Arup has been appointed to lead the transformation of the Shotton Paper Mill in Deeside – a key part of UK’s recycling infrastructure.
The firm, supported by architects AHR, will work with the mill’s owner Eren Holdings through the expansion plans to redevelop the mill, which will create 660 new jobs as part of a £600 million investment in the local area.
The transformed state-of-the-art facility will produce up to 750,000 tonnes of cardboard each year and will also have the capacity to recycle all wastepaper generated in Wales.
The Arup-led team will provide project management, design and engineering expertise for the project’s first phase, which is due to be fully operational in 2024.
The expansion will include a container board machine building, new warehouse and dispatch facilities, a combined heat and power boiler building. Subsequent phases of the project will include a corrugated packaging factory and tissue factory.
Shotton Paper Mill opened in 1983 and now plays a key role in the UK’s recycling infrastructure. Recycled paper and other recyclable materials, including household glass and plastics collected across the UK, are brought to site for reprocessing.
Arup and AHR’s track record in collaborating to create advanced industrial projects and pioneering office developments has included: Airbus’ Wing Integration Centre in Bristol; The Spine in Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (which is set to become one of the world’s healthiest workplaces); and the design of Siemen’s new train manufacturing facility in Goole.