Jobs were saved in Birmingham and around the world in September 2009 when Abdul Majid Alimohamed’s family took the Yardley-based Europackaging business back into their ownership three years after selling it to a private equity house.
The takeover resulted in Europackaging Jersey Guarantee, owned by the Majid family, taking Europackaging Ltd and Border Converters Ltd back under their wing.
The 2006 sale of Abdul Majid Alimohamed’s Europackaging to New York and London-based private equity firm MidOcean Partners is thought to have netted him and his family well over £100 million. Not bad for a man who arrived here from Malawi in 1974 and began a business as a paper bag merchant.
Europackaging is now a £200 million-plus business selling 10,000 different kinds of packaging around the world. The company employs more than 1,800 people.
Abdul Majid, aged 71, and his sons Shabir and Afzal retained a minority stake in the business, which has been involved in considerable expansion of late.
This expansion includes investment in its facility in New Hampshire, USA and sales offices in China, India and France.
The company also has interests in Malaysia, Turkey, Spain and Dubai.
Europackaging now makes and distributes a wide range of packaging products worldwide. Among other products, it provides billions of carrier bags a year to UK supermarkets and major stores including Tesco, Sainsbury, ASDA, Carrefour, Somerfield, Greggs and Ikea.
In 2005 the company invested in a state-of-the-art four storey head office building and three hall distribution centre in Birmingham.
Europackaging also has a dedicated research and development facility at its Brickfield Road HQ. This R&D unit has developed a range of innovative and environmental products including woven long life bags and sustainable carrier bags.
