EFP Livingston Celebrates 50 Years

We are celebrating a milestone at our Livingston site this October, as it achieves 50 years of manufacturing, a journey marked by innovation, quality, and unwavering service and teamwork.

A Journey Through Time

Born as a small private entity called EPS Moulders in 1973, the Livingston plant grew quickly to be one of the largest EPS moulders in the UK by the late 1970s manufacturing products for companies such as Hotpoint and Mitsubishi Electric. 

Ownership changes over the years have brought significant change. EPS Moulders was acquired by Tuscarora Inc. in 1996 starting 25 years of public ownership. Tuscarora was acquired by SCA in 2001 and subsequently SCA Packaging was acquired by DS Smith in 2012. The business then went full circle and returned to private ownership when DS Smith Plastics was acquired by US Private Equity firm Olympus Partners in 2020.       

In the early days the demand was purely for EPS packaging. Capabilities increased over the years to include conversion of EPP and EPE. We formed many long-term partnerships that started with supplying packaging before components, which started to materialise in the new millennium. The change from what we did in the 1970s to what we do today is significant; it’s been a shift that’s involved a huge amount of investment, training, reimagining, continuous innovation and at points, an entire culture change into how we perceive our materials and products.

Despite these transitions, one constant remained – our dedicated workforce. Their commitment, over the years, to continuous improvement, embracing more efficient machinery, automated processes, and enhancing skills has enabled us to adapt to the evolving manufacturing landscape. Today, we have several employees who started in the 1970’s who are still with EFP which demonstrates the dedication and tenacity of our employees.

A Word from Livingston General Manager

General Manager John Johnstone, who has been with the business for 46 years, remarks, “The way our people have adapted to the ongoing change in the business is what I’m most proud of.

As we look back on our 50-year journey, we feel a sense of immense pride in what we have achieved. We are grateful to our customers their loyalty and for the opportunities and challenges that have moulded EFP Livingston into the thriving business it is today.”