Sirane poised to expand in US following T&G acquisition

The acquisition comes as the Telford-based outfit enters the final stages of setting up its first production facility in the US. A plant near Philadelphia is scheduled to open at the start of next year.

Sirane chief executive of sales and marketing Jeremy Haydn-Davies said the acquisition would enable the firm to develop new ranges for the food, medical and horticultural markets.

T&G’s absorbent food pads will be switched from their previous PE and PP materials to Sirane’s polyethylene craft coated paper made from compostable non-GM materials derived from FSC-certified sources.

“Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s are already using this type of packaging for meat, fish and fresh fruit, and we’ll be adding others next year in Spain and Germany,” said Haydn-Davies.

The company is also looking at developing industrial filtration products for drinks and oils and has already acquired customers who want to grow seeds on absorbent materials.

Simon Balderson and Ian Beardsall set up Sirane in 2003, and the firm is looking to boost turnover to £10m by the end of the year. More than 35% of current sales are based on products that the company was not making 12 months ago.

The acquisition of T&G involves the relocation of the Hereford firm’s machinery to Sirane’s 4,180sq m factory at Stafford Park. Eight members of staff are also moving, taking the firm’s workforce to 110 people.

In the longer term, Sirane is looking to expand the Telford operation – it has acquired an adjacent 1,394sqm – and plans to have at least three production sites in the US.

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