A London-headquartered paper and cardboard packaging company that designs, makes and recycles cardboard packaging, now owned by International Paper.
DS Smith designs, makes and recycles cardboard packaging. It makes corrugated boxes and cartons for retailers and online shopping, produces recycled paper at its mills and runs recycling operations to collect the used paper and card that goes back into new packaging. The company describes a closed-loop recycling model covering the design, manufacture, supply and recycling of cardboard packaging, which it says can take as little as 14 days. It works with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a charity that promotes the circular economy, and has said it is the foundation's global partner in the packaging industry.
The business was founded in 1940 by two cousins, David Gabriel Smith and David Solomon Smith, to make cartons, and grew through acquisitions, joining the FTSE 100 list of large London-listed companies in December 2017. Its stated purpose is "Redefining Packaging for a Changing World". In a 2019 interview, Colin McIntyre, then chief executive of its paper and recycling divisions, said the purpose explains why the business exists and drives its sustainability and innovation work, including coffee-cup recycling and a report on opportunities to replace plastic. He said the company keeps high standards for recovered paper so that fibre meant for recycling is really recycled.
DS Smith is a London-based company, with a head office at 350 Euston Road, according to a 2019 company factsheet that also said it operated in 37 countries with about 32,000 employees. Its UK operations include paper mills, such as Kemsley in Kent, and a network of packaging factories and recycling depots. Ownership has changed: International Paper, an American company, completed its takeover in early 2025, and later that year it announced plans to close five UK packaging sites, affecting about 300 jobs. We could not find a statement on whether the DS Smith name will continue, so ACQUIRED: by International Paper (2025) is noted here.
On culture, our sources say very little. The 2019 interview presents the company as one that puts sustainability at the centre of its work, but that is the company's own message. Wikipedia reports a workforce of just over 30,000 in 2023, which was before the takeover. We did not find first-hand material about working life, and the 2025 job-cut news suggests that the picture today may differ from that of earlier years.
Jobs at a company like this include packaging designers and structural engineers who shape boxes for customers, machine operators and maintenance engineers in factories and mills, recycling and logistics teams, sales and account managers, and finance, human resources and IT staff. Design, engineering, chemistry, supply chain and business degrees are all possible starting points. Check the company's own website for current roles and for how it is organised under its new owner.
Website: www.dssmith.com
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