Ace Group to invest €2m in high-tect print machines

BLESSINGTON-based company Ace Group Packaging has announced plans to invest up to €2m in new high-tech print machines and automated production lines.

The Irish family business, founded in 1971, aims to increase exports to the UK and Europe on the back of the investment.

Ace Packaging utilises state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment in the manufacture of paper bags at their Blessington plant.

Speaking during a visit to the company premises this week by Tánaiste Simon Harris, owner Robin Gardner said the investment in new paper bag-making machines will substantially increase its output and turnover.

Mr Harris said it was “amazing to see the production line at Ace Group Packaging in Blessington, an Irish SME manufacturing paper bags for major retail, food and pharmacy brands.”

The company recently received planning permission to double the size of its Blessington factory, which they say will enable further growth and job creation.

Ace Group evolved over several decades to include a medical division, which supplies refrigeration and calibration services to the pharmacy and medical sectors nationwide and in June 2024 it launched a fully self-funded, state of the art paper bag manufacturing and printing division for the retail sector.

Over the last 18 months, the company has produced over 7 million custom-printed, sustainable paper bags for clients across the retail, food and pharmacy sectors.

The company currently employs 5 people but plans to double this to ten over the next 12 months.