Lucart, Italy, welcomes 2018 with a major investment aimed at strengthening its market position in the Iberian peninsula, through the acquisition of the assets of the Spanish Group CEL Technologies & Systems. 

In the summer of 2017, the CEL Group had to initiate an extraordinary administration process during which a tender procedure was launched for the sale of its production assets. The acquisition by Lucart was finalized this week (Jan. 31, 2018)) through a newly established company, Lucart Tissue & Soap S.L.U.

Lucart’s project for restarting the business includes an investment plan of more than EUR 20 million during the next five years.

 

 

With this operation, Lucart has acquired three production facilities in Spain, in the Basque Country near the city of Bilbao, designated for the production and conversion of tissue paper and the production of personal care soaps and detergents in the Away from Home industry. The acquisition also includes a substantial deinking plant, which will allow Lucart to exploit its know-how in the sector of high-quality recycled ecological tissue paper, further consolidating its position as a leader in this field. 

In terms of logistics, the geographical location of the plants is ideal for Lucart for serving both the Iberian and French markets. 

To gradually resume production, Lucart has confirmed 146 jobs in the three plants acquired, with a business plan that envisages the following: 

• Restarting two continuous machines at the Aranguren plant, for an overall capacity of 50,000 metric tpy.
• Gradually restarting and implementing the converting activity in the Gunes plant.
• Development and strengthening of soap and detergent production activities in the Artziniega plant, which has never been discontinued.

‘This acquisition will allow us to continue to strengthen our presence in the tissue paper market, in line with the company’s strategic growth plan in European markets, serving all of our Group’s Business Units,’ Massimo Pasquini, CEO of Lucart, explained. 

Lucart, a producer of MG paper, tissue products (paper items for daily use such as toilet paper, kitchen paper, napkins, tablecloths, handkerchiefs etc.) and airlaid products, was founded in 1953 by the Pasquini Family. The company's production activities are distributed over three Business Units (Business to Business, Away from Home, and Consumer) operating in the development and sales of products with brands such as Tenderly, Tutto, Grazie Natural, and Smile (Consumer area), Lucart Professional, Tenderly Professional, Fato, and Velo (Away from Home area). With this new acquisition, Lucart’s production capacity exceeds 350,000 metric tpy of paper on 12 continuous machines and 62 converting lines. Its consolidated turnover will amount to more than EUR 450 million, with more than 1,500 employees in 10 production plants (five in Italy, one in France, one in Hungary, and three in Spain).

More information about Lucart is available online.