DS Smith


DS Smith plc is an international packaging business, headquartered in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

History

The business was founded by David Solomon Smith in 1940, to manufacture cartons. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in the late 1950s.
In 1986 the company acquired St Regis Paper Company and in 1988 Kemsley Paper Mill, both paper manufacturing businesses. In 1991 the business bought Kaysersberg Packaging, a leading packaging business, and in 1993 it bought Spicers, an office products wholesaler. In 1996 it acquired John Dickinson, an envelope manufacturer, and in 2004 it completed the purchase of Linpac Containers, a corrugated packaging manufacturer. In July 2011 it sold Spicers, its office products wholesaling business, for £200 million. DS Smith Plc acquired the packaging division of Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget for a net consideration of approximately €1.6 billion in July 2012. In May 2015, DS Smith Group completed the acquisition of Duropack for approximately €300m. In December 2017 the company became a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Operations

The company manufactures packaging – corrugated packaging, plastic packaging and recycled paper – with sites in 37 countries.