Lucart Group, Italy, has won the bidding for manufacturing assets of the insolvent Spanish tissue manufacturer and converter Grupo CEL Technologies & Systems SLU (CEL).  According to a report by EUWID Pulp & Paper, Germany, two other companies—the Chilean group Triple I and the Catalonian firm Iberboard Mill—were also interested in acquiring Grupo CEL, but they did not submit a valid bid by the deadline for the bidding process on Nov. 2, 2017. 

Grupo CEL runs two production lines for deinked pulp and three tissue machines at the mill in Zalla, and has 10 converting lines at two locations, producing tissue products for commercial (AFH) and private consumers. A soap factory with a capacity of 12 million liters is also part of Grupo CEL, the EUWID report noted. 

The Italian tissue group is pursuing a strategy for growth in the Away from Home (AfH) market in Europe and the acquisition of manufacturing assets of the Spanish Grupo CEL would significantly increase the company's position on the Iberian Peninsula. 

The official bid document indicates that Lucart Group has presented a business plan for the operating units of Grupo CEL that includes a reduction in the workforce, modernizing and streamlining production, and repositioning of the product portfolio to increasingly serve commercial and industrial customers (AfH). The company is making more money available for this project. Among other things, the winning bid includes EUR 20 million in investment money reserved for repairs, maintenance, modernization, and new equipment during the next five years.