UAE's Hotpack expands with $100m plant in New Jersey
UAE-based food packaging company Hotpack has selected the US state of New Jersey for its inaugural manufacturing and distribution hub in North America.
This move aims to enhance Hotpack's service delivery to its US customers and demonstrates the company's ongoing commitment to innovation and environmental responsibility within the global packaging market.
Last week, the company, along with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced a $100m investment to establish the 70,000ft2 facility in Edison.
Slated to be operational in June this year, the plant will specialise in producing customised plastic and paper cups, containers, and clamshells, with plans to expand its workforce as operations grow.
Hotpack CEO & managing director Abdul Jebbar said: "We are proud to establish a manufacturing presence in New Jersey as this expansion marks a significant milestone for the company. This investment reflects our dedication to better serving our clients in the US market and contributes to the local economy through job creation and advanced manufacturing capabilities.
The initial phase of this project is projected to create up to 200 new jobs within five years.
Governor Murphy expressed his support for Hotpack's decision while on the New Jersey economic mission to the Gulf Arab States.
'Hotpack's decision to expand its presence in New Jersey is a powerful endorsement of our state's strategic location, skilled workforce, and robust infrastructure. With this announcement, New Jersey continues to prove itself as a top destination for global companies looking to grow and innovate in the United States,' Murphy remarked.
Hotpack's expansion into New Jersey aligns with its 2030 Vision to grow globally.
'The New Jersey expansion is the latest in a series of investments we have made to scale our international footprint. As part of our strategic international expansions, we have made significant investments in different countries, which includes investment in 2022 for a biodegradable packaging facility in Malaysia, expansion of manufacturing facilities in Saudi Arabia and our dedicated paper products manufacturing facility in India has been fully functional since 2023, further underlining our role in supporting regional and global markets,' Abdul Jebbar added.
The company has also recently achieved ISO recertification across 20 facilities, validating its quality management systems, environmental practices, and occupational health and safety standards.
"UAE's Hotpack expands with $100m plant in New Jersey" was originally created and published by Packaging Gateway, a GlobalData owned brand.
The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
39 minutes ago
- Newsweek
DoorDash Hit With Major Lawsuit Over 'Deceptive' Pricing
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. DoorDash, America's premier food delivery platform, has been sued by Canada's competition authority for "allegedly advertising misleading prices and discounts." Newsweek reached out to DoorDash via email outside of regular hours for comment. Why It Matters This marks the second major lawsuit to face DoorDash this year, following a $17-million settlement over the misuse of driver tips in February. As well as potentially forcing the delivery firm to significantly alter its pricing practices, the latest action could force the company to pay a significantly higher penalty, as well as restitution to affected customers. What To Know On Monday, the Canadian Competition Bureau announced it would be taking legal action against the San Francisco-based company, as well as its Canadian subsidiary DoorDash Technologies Canada. The antitrust watchdog said that the company had consistently promoted its services at lower prices than customers were eventually forced to pay, in violation of the Canadian Competition Act, while also misrepresenting certain fees as taxes rather than discretionary charges. The lawsuit stems from DoorDash allegedly advertising food and other items at prices far lower than those customers eventually paid, and engaging in what the bureau refers to as "drip pricing": a sales tactic in which customers are shown an initial lower price, with additional fees added later in the purchasing process. These included delivery costs, as well as obligatory "regulatory response" and "expanded range" fees. "A bureau investigation found that consumers were unable to purchase food and other items at the advertised price on DoorDash's websites and mobile applications due to the addition of mandatory fees at checkout," the announcement read, describing the practice as "deceptive," as "consumers are not presented with an attainable price up front." The Bureau alleged that DoorDash has been engaged in this alleged conduct for "close to a decade," and has acquired nearly $1 billion in customer fees from doing so. Stock image of the DoorDash logo on a smartphone screen. Stock image of the DoorDash logo on a smartphone screen. Photo illustration byIn addition, the investigation found that the company had combined service fees and taxes into a single item on a user's bill, which it said was "false or misleading as it requires an extra click for the consumer to actually see that the 'fees and estimated taxes' are two separate charges, only one of which is imposed by the government on the purchaser and not the other." In its application with the Canadian Competition Tribunal, the bureau requested that DoorDash and its subsidiary stop engaging in the practices, pay a monetary penalty "as the tribunal deems appropriate," and to pay restitution to affected customers. The latter amount, it said, could reach "the total amounts paid to DoorDash for the products in respect of which the reviewable conduct was engaged in." What People Are Saying Canada's competition commissioner Matthew Boswell said: "Parliament has made it clear that businesses must not engage in drip pricing by advertising unattainable prices and then adding mandatory fees. The Competition Bureau has been fighting against this misleading practice for years. "Our litigation against DoorDash is another example of our efforts to ensure consumers are not misled and can trust the prices they see online. We urge all businesses to review their pricing practices and make sure they comply with the law." DoorDash denied hiding fees from or misleading customers, saying it believes the lawsuit "is an overly punitive attempt to make an example of an industry leader in local commerce," in a statement quoted by Reuters. What Happens Next? According to the application, DoorDash has 45 days to issue a response to the Competition Tribunal.
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
Hedge fund giants are backing more external fund managers. Here's why smaller rivals are doing the opposite.
The hedge fund talent war means profit-generating portfolio managers have more options than ever. In an industry run by savvy billionaires, rank-and-file traders have had the upper hand in recent years thanks to what Millennium founder Izzy Englander deemed a " talent bubble" in 2023. Multistrategy firms, which blend a variety of investment strategies within a single fund, are catering to top PMs' whims, opening offices in places like Dubai and Puerto Rico so employees can avoid the taxman, or letting top traders run capital externally in their own funds. A report from data provider With Intelligence found that multistrategy platforms have put $55 billion to work in external managers, with firms like Millennium, Qube, and Schonfeld leading the way. But as the industry's largest players partner with new launches and external money managers, smaller platforms are drawing in portfolio managers who want a semblance of autonomy in addition to the benefits of working within a broader organization. Smaller managers can offer a more boutique feel for traders who feel constrained by the biggest multistrategy funds, which one allocator previous described as " skill factories" that don't rely on a single star. Adrian Brummer, a partner at $12 billion Brummer & Partners, a Swedish alternative investment manager, told Business Insider that the firm has four internal portfolio managers and expects that to grow to "six or more during this year." Brummer has more investment strategies run via external partnerships than internal PMs, but traders working in-house can be more efficient and easier to aboard, Brummer said. "A pod structure also allows us to access more capacity-constrained strategies," Brummer wrote in an email. A focus on talent Brummer isn't the only platform known for investing in external firms and managers that is flipping its model. A person close to the $6 billion alternative manager New Holland said the firm is in the early stages of adding internal portfolio managers to its multi-strategy offering. The firm began as an investment advisor for Dutch pension plans and has since become independent. It just hired former Brevan Howard executive Stephan Brohme as chief risk officer to boost its "operational infrastructure," a press release said. "His extensive experience and expertise working alongside investment teams to effectively mitigate and strategically manage risk will be a tremendous asset across our firm," New Holland CEO Scott Radke said in the release. London-based Bainbridge Partners, which started its multistrategy offering as a fund-of-funds in 2002, has added 10 internal investing pods over the last decade and plans to add more, according to Antoine Haddad, the founder of the $1 billion firm. "The focus is to bring in more strategies that make sense to internalize," Haddad wrote in an email, with a bias toward more niche options. At former Eisler portfolio manager Sean Gambino's new fund, Baypointe Partners, onetime Crestline executive Mark Walker is recreating an "old-school partnership," he told BI. Walker was a part of the leadership team at Crestline that turned the alternative manager's fund-of-funds business into a more modern multistrategy fund with some internal PMs. He is now the CEO of Baypointe and said he is targeting pod shop investors tired of the siloed structure found at many of the biggest platforms. He aims to build a "Seal Team 6" of senior PMs trading specific sectors, with a "completely transparent center book," which sits atop traders' portfolios and pulls its positions from them. Gambino is already trading consumer stocks, and Richard Shapiro, a former Millennium and Wexford Capital PM, will run the center book. "PMs want a level of independence but don't want to run a business," he said. While the biggest funds in the booming multistrategy space, which now manage more than $900 billion, according to research from Nasdaq's eVestment, can offer PMs more guaranteed compensation, there are levers smaller firms can pull to attract talent. A differentiator Brummer and Walker both mentioned is tailoring risk management limits to a PM's strategy and preference. It's an advantage that can only be offered by smaller firms, as the biggest funds have too many moving parts and people to make customized risk frameworks for each of their traders. "It's all about what you need to do to secure the best talent," said Matthew Glasofer, a partner at Corbin Capital Partners, a $9.6 billion alternative asset manager with a multistrategy fund that only invests in external PMs. Corbin is not yet bringing traders in-house, but Glasofer said, "We haven't shut the door on anything."
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
Starbucks' new OpenAI-powered tool helps baristas remember drink recipes and suggests food options
Starbucks is piloting a tool that'll help its baristas remember drink recipes. The Seattle-based coffee chain launched a new AI tool called Green Dot Assist, created with OpenAI. This tool, available on an iPad behind the counter in Starbucks stores, will work as an in-store virtual assistant for baristas. "Instead of flipping through manuals or searching for answers, partners can now ask questions on in-store iPads and receive instant, conversational responses," Starbucks said in a Tuesday press release. In an explanatory video of the tool, Starbucks said Green Dot Assist would show videos of how to make certain drinks, suggest tweaks and customizations to recipes, and recommend food pairings. For instance, a video on how to make Starbucks' Lavender Oatmilk Latte shows the app directing the barista to recommend a lemon loaf to the customer, as the loaf would "complement the latte's floral notes." "This marks a significant step forward in our commitment to streamlining operations, reducing friction, and giving partners more time to focus on crafting beverages and connecting with customers," Starbucks said in the release. Green Dot Assist is in use in 35 Starbucks stores in the US, "with more on the way," Starbucks said in the release. CNBC reported that a broader launch of the tool across the US and Canada is scheduled for Starbucks' fiscal year 2026, which begins in the fall. The new tool fits into CEO Brian Niccol's " Back to Starbucks" game plan, which aims to make Starbucks stores more inviting, improve operations, and reduce customer wait times. As part of the plan, Starbucks announced it would eliminate 30% of its menu offerings before the end of the fiscal year and has introduced a new mobile ordering system. The chain is also ramping up hiring baristas to fix its long-standing understaffing problem. Niccol said in April that Starbucks was focusing more on hiring baristas than on investing in equipment. "We're finding through our work that investments in labor, rather than equipment, are more effective at improving throughput and driving transaction growth," Niccol said on the company's earnings call in April.
