Alpla Caribe, a provider of plastic packaging solutions, has collaborated with Fortiflex to better serve packaging customers in the Caribbean and Central America.

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Image: Alpla Caribe, Fortiflex establish strategic packaging alliance to serve packaging customers. Photo: courtesy of ALPLA.

In 2018, both firms entered into a strategic alliance for the creation of a contractual basis for an interim solution.

In line with the agreement, the complete production of Fortiflex was transferred to Alpla facility in Guayama, Puerto Rico. The agreement will be effective for a period of 10 years.

A total of 12 injection moulding machines have been transferred from Dorado to the Alpla facility in Guayama.

According to Alpla, around 30 new jobs have been created at the site, and the contracting partners have agreed not to disclose any further details.

The deal was signed with an aim to establish themselves as the preferred packaging producer in the Caribbean and in Central America.

Alpla Caribe regional manager Richard Lisch said: “An emergency situation resulted in collaboration that offers advantages to both parties.

“Alpla’s global presence and Fortiflex’s regional reputation are helping us in jointly positioning ourselves as the preferred manufacturer of innovative packaging solutions in this region.”

Established in 1976, Fortiflex produces waterers, troughs and crates for the agricultural sector, as well as thin-walled containers for decorating and building needs and food.

At present, Fortiflex exports its products to the customers in 16 different countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America and Singapore.

Alpla Caribe also produces product decoration using offset printing, heat transfer or in-mould labelling (IML), which can be used to offer high-quality imprints to the packaging.

With around 350 employees, the company operates two sites located in Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic.

The technologies used by the company include EBM, SBM, injection moulding, preforms, compression moulding and large-container EBM.

Alpla Caribe produces a range of standard packaging solutions and customer-specific bottles and caps for food, cosmetics, household cleaning products, oils and lubricants, as well as the automotive sector.

Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Clorox, Lanco, Industrias San Miguel (IMS), Goya, Agua Planeta Azul (APA) and MercaSID are the major customers of the company.