DS Smith Corrugated Board Plant in France Acquired by Europac
 Print this article | Send to Colleague
The Europac Group, Madrid, Spain, has acquired a corrugated board factory in Caradec, France, for EUR 21.7 million, expected to become effective March 1. The facility produces 100 million cubic meters of recycled corrugated board per year and consumes 60,000 metric tpy of paper. The deal will enable the Europac group to step up board production in France by 28% and to increase its vertical integration. With this acquisition, the degree of integration between paper and board in the French market will rise from 67% to 88%.
José Miguel Isidro, chairman of the Europac Group, said that "this acquisition falls under the umbrella of the Group's strategic targets for the French market, where we command a share of the packaging segment of 7.4%".
The factory is located in Brittany and its integration into the Europac Group's organizational structure will consolidate the company's position in Western France, which represents one-third of the French packaging market.
This transaction follows the acquisition of SCA Packaging by DS Smith, which the European anti-trust authorities had made conditional upon the sale of the Caradec corrugated board factory in Western France, among others.
The integration of this facility into the Europac Group will enable the company to consolidate its position as a benchmark supplier to the France market, Europe's third-largest market by sales volumes and Europac's largest. The deal will extend the company's sales reach in Brittany and boost cooperation with French and international customers.
The Europac Group entered the French market in 2008. It currently produces 280,000 metric tons of recycled paper and 360 million cubic meters of corrugated board annually. Accordingly, the addition of this new facility will boost board production to 460 million cubic meters per year, making Europac the fourth-largest packaging producer in France.
|
|
