Pioneering a new form of plastic labelling is boosting production at a Bradford packaging factory which is set to expand and create jobs.

The German owners of the £10 million purpose-built Weidenhammer packaging plant at Buttershaw have agreed to sink another £1.6 million into equipment and production lines following £2 million of investment last year.

The Bradford plant, whose core product is cans for the food, tobacco and drink industries, increased sales by 18 per cent last year and has advanced its growth target by three years from 2020 to 2017.

General manager Paul Barber said the company was expanding its labelled plastic packaging output, which produces containers with a printed label, after becoming the first Weidenhammer plant outside Germany to use in-mould labelling (IML) last autumn.

The Bradford factory is producing a biscuit box for United Biscuits' Family Circle brand. Ralf Weidenhammer, group chief executive, said: “Entry into the plastic packaging market in the United Kingdom is a major step for us. We see a huge potential for our IML packaging there and aim to expand this division in the coming years.”

He said Weidenhammer had become the second biggest player in composite cans in the UK and aimed to be the market leader by 2017. This year the Bradford plant will a create ten jobs, taking its workforce to around 75.

Mr Barber said the composite can business remained strong, with output breaking through the 100 million mark in 2012 and on track to exceed 115 million this year. The Bradford plant has clinched an order to produce coffee catering packs for a leading brand.

The factory now operates 13 injection moulding machines and was gearing up to expand plastic labelled packing. Mr Barber said: “After the growth we achieved in 2012, we remain confident about the outlook for this year. Our business has seen little sign of recession and we remain on track for continued growth. Our performance is a credit to the UK management team and our workforce, in which the Weidenhammer family shows confidence by letting us make strategic decisions.”

Overall, the Weiden-hammer Packaging Group, which has 12 plants, increased sales by 6.5 per cent to around £206 million in 2012, despite the Euro crisis and pressure on prices.

Mr Weidenhammer said: “We are very pleased with the progress and results of the 2012 business year. In view of the enduring economic crisis in most European markets and the highly competitive situation, we had not expected the result to be as positive as this. We have not merely achieved our targets, but exceeded them. This shows that we are on the right path and it encourages us to continue pursuing our goals. ”