Procap rebrands as United Caps and expands its management team
The family firm, whose HQ is in Luxembourg, Belgium, plans to further expand its portfolio, increase its innovative capabilities, get closer to customers and it will launch a plant in Schwerin, Germany, next month.
New management team
It has hired Philippe Thivet as chief innovation and coaching officer and Astrid Hoffmann-Leist, director of marketing and communications as part of the new management team.
Benoît Henckes, CEO, United Caps, told FoodProductionDaily, the company has more than 75 years’ experience working with plastic, becoming an expert in in-mould labelling (IML), multi-component assembly, ultrasonic welding and tamper evident bands.
“We are ushering in a new era with a new name, strong ambitions and a new growth strategy,” he said.
“We have plans to grow outside of Europe. We already supply to customers in the US and Asia but we want to grow even more.
“Our aim is to be the reference for plastic caps and closures but get closer to our customers and develop long term relationships. We want to increase our customer proximity, hold regular open days and encourage clients to meet our design specialists at our premises to get a greater understanding of new technology.
“We want to invest in our people to make sure they stay at the top of their game. We are bringing everything together to create a new strategy to show how serious we are.
“United Caps embodies who we are and demonstrates that we are united in everything we do. We want to tie our past success and future ambitions together to focus on our core strengths that sets us apart from the competition.”
R&D Centre in France
The company’s research and development (R&D) centre in Messia, France, will focus on strengthening the firm’s product line. It opened a production plant in Ireland two years’ ago and expanded and upgraded a plant in Hoboken, Belgium, last year.
It has seven manufacturing facilities in total in Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg and Spain. The firm employs more than 490 people and recorded a turnover of €116m in 2014.
“We are in a position to shake up our industry, to deepen relationships and create more products,” added Henckes.
The company acquired Schoeller Cap Systems in Schwerin, Germany, in 2013, it’s first manufacturing presence in Germany and in 2009, packaging distribution specialist Macfarlane Group sold its Irish plastics business to Procap for 1.7m.
The Irish business specialises in plastic injection-moulded packaging for sectors including petrochemicals, food, medical and pharmaceutical.
The facility's location in Northern Germany supports United Caps plans to expand in Scandinavia and Poland.
“We have grown through recent mergers and acquisitions and entered new markets and expanded geographically. Now, we have seven manufacturing facilities and we are exporting more overseas with food (80%) and non-food (20%).
“We make closures for edible oil condiments, beverages, baby powder. Our products are continually being improved, for greater efficiency, and we create bespoke solutions to differentiate brands global products,” added Henckes.
