E H Walton finally shuts up shop

In a blow for the city’s employment figures, one of the oldest packaging companies in the country, E H Walton Packaging in Port Elizabeth, has finally closed its doors.

The 170-year-old company has been provisionally liquidated, with almost 200 people having lost their jobs in the process.

SA Typographical Union (Satu) regional secretary-organiser Selwyn Felix said the final announcement that the company would be liquidated was communicated at a meeting on Friday.

“There was a potential buyer that could have saved the company, but that fell through. The company started in 1845 and it is very sad news for the city and the packaging industry.”

- Cindy Preller