Kemsley Mill opens doors to local MP

20th October 2010
Kemsley Mill opens doors to local MP

Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Gordon Henderson had an opportunity to see first hand the scale of operations at one of Sittingbourne’s largest businesses when he was the guest of St Regis Paper Company Limited, part of DS Smith PLC, the owners of Kemsley Mill.

After an initial briefing about St Regis and Kemsley Mill, Mr Henderson was given a tour of the mill, which is the largest papermaking site in the UK and the country’s largest recycler of waste paper.

Mill General Manager Mark Steadman said: “We were delighted to welcome Mr Henderson and show him some of the work that we do here. Papermaking has a long tradition in the area and we are proud to carry it on. Kemsley Mill is an important part of the St Regis portfolio. We have invested some £360 million in the site since we first acquired part of it in 1988 and are committed to ensuring that it remains a competitive player in the global papermaking market.”

Mr Henderson, who was shown around the mill by Mark Steadman and St Regis Commercial Director Will Faure Walker, added: “Papermaking is an important industry that is both capital and labour intensive, making Kemsley Mill an important part of the local economy. I had an introduction to the mill last year when preparing for the General Election and was pleased to have the opportunity to return there and learn more about what currently happens on site, the success of recent new products and St Regis’ plans for the future.”

Kemsley Mill dates to 1924 and today 800 people are employed at the site. The mill is one of the largest European manufacturers of recycled corrugated case material (CCM), which is used for producing corrugated packaging. The site handles some one million tonnes of UK-sourced waste paper every year.