Richmond, Va.-Based Firm May Close British Packaging Unit...

Chesapeake Corp. is planning to close a paperboard packaging plant in Congleton, England, because of what the company called "tough market conditions" for food and household packaging. A final decision on whether to close the plant has not been made, Chesapeake spokesman Joe Vagi said.

The closure could affect as many as 125 employees. Some may be offered jobs at plants in Birmingham and Newcastle.

Richmond-based Chesapeake acquired the factory in its purchase of First Carton Group Ltd. in October 2000. First Carton, a packaging supplier with plants in the United Kingdom and Germany, is being integrated into Field Group Plc., a British packaging company that Chesapeake acquired in 1999. The companies have formed a subsidiary named Field First Carton.

Vagi said the proposed closure is part of "the overall integration effort" of the two companies. Pressure on carton prices also was a factor in the proposal to close the plant, the company said. "Those are conditions that have been prevalent for a while now, and we anticipate that those same conditions are going to continue into the future," Vagi said.

Although still based in Richmond, Chesapeake Corp. has sold most of its U.S. operations and has bought companies in Europe in recent years to expand into food, pharmaceutical, tobacco and confectionery products packaging.

Richmond Times