- The EIB investment will help improve the efficiency of Hinojosa’s production plants in Spain.
- The financing will also cover its digitalisation strategy and the installation of photovoltaic panels.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a €20 million loan to Hinojosa, a recycled paper and packaging solutions producer headquartered in Xàtiva (Valencia). Hinojosa’s business model is based on the circular economy, as everything generated in the production process provides a source and raw materials for new processes, minimising waste generation.
The operation aims to improve Hinojosa’s production processes to achieve greater efficiency by modernising facilities, equipment and machinery and incorporating advanced technology. The investments will be made in eight of its existing production plants for recycled paper and packaging solutions, all located in Spain. The financing will also cover the company’s digitalisation strategy and the installation of photovoltaic panels.
The EIB-financed investment plan is in line with the Bank’s climate action and environmental sustainability objectives as it will promote the replacement of fossil-based single-use plastics with more sustainable and recyclable paper-based packaging solutions. It will also lead to more efficient production processes and will contribute to the generation of renewable energy, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Innovation and sustainability are one of the cornerstones of Hinojosa’s strategy. With multiple patents, it is a pioneer in digital printing, having added the first single-pass, large-format digital printer for corrugated cardboard in 2015.
The project will mainly be implemented in cohesion areas of Spain to support the local economy and employment. Despite increased efficiency and digitalisation, Hinojosa plans to increase its workforce in the coming years.
EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix said: “As the EU climate bank, we are pleased to be supporting Hinojosa in modernising and digitalising its production systems to improve the sustainability of its products and processes. This agreement demonstrates the EIB’s strong commitment to innovation and to promoting clean technologies, which are key to achieving the European objective of climate neutrality.”
Background information:
The European Investment Bank (EIB) operates in around 160 countries and is the world’s largest multilateral lender for climate action projects.
The EIB Group recently adopted its Climate Bank Roadmap to deliver on its ambitious agenda to support €1 trillion of climate action and environmental sustainability investments in the decade to 2030 and to allocate more than 50% of its financing to climate action and environmental sustainability by 2025. As part of the roadmap, all new EIB Group operations have been aligned with the goals and principles of the Paris Agreement since 2021.
About Hinojosa
With 75 years of experience, Hinojosa is a leader in the packaging sector and is considered one of the top family business groups in Spain. Having experienced significant growth in recent years, the company began to expand internationally in 2020. It now has 20 production sites across Spain, Portugal and France. This growth is underpinned by innovation, specialisation and customer service. The company closed 2020 with a turnover of €430 million.
Its international reach is enhanced by its membership of Blue Box Partners, a European alliance made up of four family businesses that are leaders in the packaging sector in their respective home markets, with a total of around 10 200 employees and 100 production facilities.