Paper packaging manufacturer Chevler has been granted £300k in Welsh Government funding to replace an aging asbestos roof at its factory.
The Caerphilly-based company produces a range of bakery packaging products including cupcake cases, tulip muffin wraps, and printed greaseproof sheets, and currently employs 55 staff.
“This vital support from the Welsh Government helps us build a platform from which we can secure and continue the expansion of our Hengoed manufacturing operations, enabling us to increase our highly skilled workforce,” commented Chevler managing director Stuart Whelan.
“It also gives a new lease of life to the premises by insulating them to current regulations. This will dramatically help us increase our energy efficiency and reduce our carbon emissions. Now that this issue has been resolved we can confidently invest in our people and processes to drive growth,” he added.
The investment from the Welsh Government’s Economy Futures Fund includes a £150,000 repayable loan and £150,000 non-repayable grant.
Such match funding is given to Welsh businesses to help create better jobs in local communities. This is said to be in line with the government’s economic contract, which sets out how it works with businesses to provide public investment that prioritises the social and environmental needs of Wales while building a prosperous, greener, and fairer economy.
“I am pleased to support Chevler with this funding, which will enable the company to safeguard jobs and look ahead to the future,” said Welsh Economy Minister Vaughan Gething.
“Following heavy losses during the pandemic, the company has made a commendable recovery and has plans to increase sales and employ a further 10 people once its building is fit for purpose.”
Chevler had previously secured a series of loans from the Development Bank of Wales including a six-figure sum in 2018 to purchase equipment, helping launch a range of new shapes and designs. In April last year, it unveiled a new range of rainbow-coloured crimped cupcake cases and tulip muffin wraps (pictured above).
The Pudding Compartment is another example of a Welsh manufacturer looking to ramp up capacity after investment from the Development Bank of Wales – it received a £100k loan last December to improve facilities at its site in Flintshire.
Free-from Bakery Product of the Year winner Just Love Food Company, which operates a site in Oakdale Business Park just a few miles down the road from Chevler, recently told British Baker that the Welsh government would be supportive of its plan to start reselling its free-from cakes in the Republic of Ireland.
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