The acquisition of two Spanish companies is part of Alpla’s efforts to expand its recycling activities
Image: Alpla uses annually uses 13,000t of rHDPE for the production of milk and juice bottles in the UK. Photo: courtesy of ALPLA.
Austrian packaging manufacturer Alpla has agreed to acquire two Spanish recycling companies Suminco and Replacalm to expand its business.
The acquisition is a part of Alpla’s effort to expand its recycling activities and marks Alpla’s move into high-density polyethylene (HDPE) recycling. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
The two Spanish companies are owned by a Spanish family-owned entity with more than three decades of experience in manufacturing HDPE recyclates.
Alpla recycling head Georg Lässer said: “The investment in the two recycling plants in Spain brings us one step closer to our overall goal of being the leading manufacturer of sustainable plastic packaging.”
Alpla intends to use suitable recyclates for packaging production
Alpla said that a large proportion of Suminco and Replacal’s HDPE recyclates have been used for the production of corrugated pipes for sewage systems and other industrial applications.
However, the firm now plans to use suitable recyclates to manufacture its own packaging.
The company currently operates two PET recycling plants in Austria and Poland. Through joint ventures, the company also has operations in Mexico and Germany.
As per the terms of the agreement, Suminco and Replacal will continue to operate under the existing management.
Lässer added: “We are safeguarding our production plants’ material supply and are doing our bit to achieve a functioning circular economy.”
Suminco Jose Peruga former owner said: “The strong and recognised quality of our products in post-consumer recycling for more than three decades together with the synergies that will be created with ALPLA will allow us to improve the quality of our products even more.
“And ALPLA can produce HDPE packaging with a high content of recycled post-consumer material, as their customers and consumers demand.”
Alpla said it has set aside an investment of €50m ($55.7m) as part of its goal to expand its recycling activities.
Additionally, the firm said that all of its packaging solutions are to be fully-recyclable by 2025.
In April 2019, Alpla has collaborated with Swedish packaging materials provider BillerudKorsnäs to create a new joint venture and develop paper bottle.