Packaging manufacturer Wolf Plastics (Kammern / Austria; www.wolfplastics.eu) will cut around 45 jobs at its headquarters in Kammern. The company has invested "a lot of money" to turn a two-stage production facility (colour printing and injection moulding) into a competence centre with one-stage production. "The rationalisation effects that we achieved in this way have improved our competitiveness, but on the other hand require a resizing programme," said managing partner Georg Hirsch.

In the medium term, the company's own printing plant as well as employees from the areas of injection moulding, toolmaking, warehousing and administration will be affected.

The modernisation of the plant is expected to be completed by the end of 2018 and will be accompanied by increased cooperation with universities and other research and development institutions.

The plastic packaging specialist was founded in 1973 in Kammern. The family-owned company currently has three independent production sites in Austria, Hungary and Romania. Its core products, such as buckets and canisters, are produced by injection moulding and extrusion blow moulding processes. Key customers are in the building materials, chemicals and food sectors. In 2016, Wolf Plastics generated sales of around EUR 50m with 225 employees. According to its own information, the company is the market leader in southeastern Europe.