News

The UK's "largest" engraver of gravure cylinders for packaging has closed, with "around 125" jobs across the country hanging in the balance.

Staff at Keating Group, which also specialises in repro and cylinder production and is headquartered in Mold, Flintshire, were told on Friday morning that they would all be made redundant and would not be paid for the last four weeks.

No one could be contacted at the head office. Packaging News has learned that workers were initially informed the firm was going into liquidation, but that it was currently in discussion with Ernst & Young over the possibility of administration.

It is understood that there was "absolutely no expectation" of the move, which was blamed on a bank changing its mind about releasing money for the company.

Contrary to earlier reports, the effects will be limited to around 125 workers in the UK, and will not extend to staff at Keating Group's overseas associate sites.

Keating Group's UK sites include a cylinder engraving facility in Bradley Fold, Lancashire, a printer inplant facility in Livingston, Scotland, and a repro site in Letchworth, Hertfordshire.

Its international sites include a site in Dublin, cylinder production facilities in Izmir, Turkey, and Manila, Philippines, and a print and packaging repro site in Lund, Sweden.

Keating Group, set up over 20 years ago by Mike Keating, was taken over by Mike Samuel and Paul Musto in July last year.

A source at the Bradley Fold plant, which was still operating this morning, said that "this week will decide what happens" at "the greatest engraving plant in the world".

Keating Group supplies cylinders to Amcor Flexibles and has partnered with consumables giant Sun Chemical on gravure printing.