The multi-million pound investment was announced in January and is set to strengthen the company's manufacturing presence in Europe, with production due to start later this year. The 50,000sq ft. "Centre of Excellence" facility would replace the existing 15,000sq ft. facility in Norwich and company intended the new plant to be one of the most efficient packaging machinery factories in Europe. Having recently opened regional centres in Russia and China, the company aimed to continually expand the organisation globally, a spokeswoman told in-PharmaTechnologist.com. The facility would be home to the Autowrappers and Europack brands, which together specialise in cartooning machines and systems, wrapping machines, and standard and customised film wrapping solutions. Although the lion's share of the business comes from the food and confectionery industry, a significant portion comes from the pharmaceutical sector, with several pharmaceutical companies opting for the packaging machinery offered by the Bradman Lake brand. Preparations for a new product offensive are underway and the launch of the extended offering is scheduled for 2008. Bradman Lake Group global marketing manager Dennis Juenger said in a statement: "The continuous development of our product portfolio will provide us with an opportunity to continue our already established rise to become one of the leading providers within our chosen industry." Earlier this year, the company announced it was selling its recently acquired brands Albro, Dico and Gravfil, which provided a range of vacuum and net weight filling machines, capping and closing systems, and liquid filling machines. Bradman Lake acquired the three brands as part of its 2004 acquisition of GEI Packaging, but decided to sell the brands following reviews that concluded the brands would be "better served as a separate business".
