Major UK protective packaging company the Macfarlane Group (Glasgow; www.macfarlanegroup.com) has acquired Armagrip (Ferryhill / UK), in county Durham, for an undisclosed sum. Armagrip's protective packaging distribution business focuses on customers mostly in the industrials sector across the north of England. The company posted sales revenue of GBP 1.6m (EUR 1.9m) in 2019 and has eight workers – all employees will be transferred to Macfarlane.

In separate news, Macfarlane's packaging unit announced the appointment of Roger Lawty as group regional director for the north of England, Scotland and Ireland. Lawty, who took up his role on 1 January, reports to the group’s CEO Peter Atkinson. “Macfarlane Packaging has exciting growth plans across the UK and this is the right time to add to our leadership,” Atkinson said. Lawty joined Macfarlane in 2008 following the acquisition of Online Packaging.

The Glasgow-based group has more than 925 employees at 30 sites, mostly in the UK as well as in Ireland and Sweden. In 2019, Macfarlane announced the acquisitions of compatriots Leyland Packaging (Leyland; www.leypack.co.uk) and Ecopak (Westcott; www.ecopac.co.uk); both are also specialists in protective packaging.