Vegabaja Packaging turns over 89.8 million on its 50th anniversary driven by the modernization of its Alicante plant

Half a century of industrial evolution in the Spanish Levant

The corrugated cardboard sector in Spain features facilities that have acted as a barometer for the country's industrial evolution. Vegabaja Packaging, a plant integrated into Hinojosa Packaging Group, has just celebrated 50 years of operational activity with figures that consolidate its weight in the Mediterranean arc. The factory located in Dolores (Alicante) closed the 2025 financial year with a turnover of 89.8 million euros, representing a growth of nearly 8% compared to the previous year, supported by a workforce now approaching 200 professionals.

The origins of the facility date back to 1976, when it began operating with barely a dozen workers to supply the growing packaging demand of the footwear sector in the neighboring town of Elche. Since then, diversification has been the key to its survival and expansion. Today, Vegabaja Packaging's converting lines not only serve the footwear industry but are also a strategic supplier for the toy industry in Ibi, the Murcian canning sector, and the powerful agri-food engine of the Levant.

Continuous modernization and integrated circular economy

The plant's qualitative leap materialized in 2011 with the relocation to its current industrial complex, a covered area of approximately 50,000 square meters. This move allowed for the installation of an automated vertical warehouse, a pioneer at the time for the cardboard sector in Spain, and laid the foundations for a policy of constant renewal of the machinery park. The incorporation of high-speed rotary die-cutters and advanced printing systems has enabled the factory to absorb demand peaks from the horticultural sector without compromising delivery times.

Beyond productive capacity, the Alicante plant has fine-tuned its integration into Hinojosa's circular economy model. The cardboard scrap generated during the die-cutting and converting processes is not treated as waste but returns directly to the Hinojosa Paper Alquería mill. There, this recovered fiber re-enters the paper machine to manufacture new reels that will subsequently be transformed into new packaging.

To optimize this material flow and reduce the carbon footprint of its logistical operations, the company recently launched a daily route using a fully electric truck connecting the Vegabaja and Alquería facilities. These types of operational synergies demonstrate how the industrial maturity of a plant with half a century of history can align with current demands for decarbonization and efficiency in the packaging supply chain.