Thai packaging company TPBI is to enter the paper packaging market for the first time after inking a deal to acquire stakes in UK firm Intelipac – the business that resurrected bakery packaging supplier Reynards last year.

The move was in response to “strong demand in south-east Asia and Australia” for eco-friendly paper and packaging products, a TPBI spokesman told British Baker.

The new signings, which include the former Reynards business, will enable the Bangkok-based company to offer paper packaging alongside its reusable plastic products, including bags for life, food and liquid pouches.

Reynards entered administration in 2017, but was rescued by Stoke-on-Trent-based Intelipac, a supplier of bakery and deli bags, carrier bags and corrugated cardboard boxes to retailers in the UK and Australia.

TPBI said it expected the new acquisitions would enable it to start earning fresh revenue – Thai Baht 1 billion (£233.3k) per year – as early as Q4 2018 and achieve its FY2018 growth target.

“The acquisitions have transformed us into a world-class producer and supplier of packaging products from a variety of materials, and they have equipped us with the channels for distribution of reusable plastic bags in new markets. We are also looking to increase the variety further to reflect demand in European and Australian markets,” said Somsak Borrisuttanakul, TPBI chief executive.

Kamol Borrisuttanakul, TPBI’s chief financial officer, noted that the company had obtained a paper packaging production plant with a capacity of two million units per day in the UK, as well as management teams with “extensive experience and understanding of the European and Australian market environment and demand”.

In April 2017, Intelipac acquired the name, goodwill and certain assets of Reynards, a supplier of bakery goods including foil trays, paper cases and films for more than 45 years.