Packaging giant Amcor has said it will make a further strategic investment of up to $45m (£39m) in US-headquartered group ePac Flexible Packaging.

The investment will increase Amcor’s minority shareholding in ePac Holdings – it had already said last year that it would invest around $10m-$15m in the business.

ePac specialises in the production of short- and medium-run flexible packaging such as lay-flat pouches and stand-up pouches, for markets including food, supplements, and health and beauty.

Ian Wilson, Amcor executive vice president of strategy and development, said: “This additional investment reflects our confidence in ePac’s entrepreneurial team and their proven ability to rapidly scale in the high growth, often higher value short-run segment.

“Since our initial investment last year, we have been deeply impressed with ePac’s focused and innovative business model centred around deploying a very high level of digitalisation and customisation.

“ePac’s proven digital technologies enable the delivery of exceptional service levels and significantly reduced lead times. These specialisations are designed to meet the unique speed to market and service needs of locally based small to medium customers, skill sets that are highly transferable to areas of Amcor’s core business.”

He added: “We believe this investment complements Amcor’s existing digital activities and is well aligned with our vision that packaging will continue to become more personalised and more connected, as well as more sustainable.

“This partnership is an excellent example of our objective to partner with high growth, visionary companies that provide opportunities for Amcor to leverage new innovations and value propositions while generating strong returns for Amcor shareholders.

“We are excited to be extending our relationship with a highly successful startup and continuing to support ePac’s future growth ambitions.”

Founded in 2016, ePac’s annual revenue has grown by more than 600% over the past three years to a run rate of over $200m.

The business, which operates 25 sites globally, last month said it was planning a major worldwide expansion of its operations, including a second site in the UK, in the Leeds region.

Its existing UK operation is in Silverstone. It had previously intended to open a second UK facility in 2020, but those plans were delayed by the pandemic.