This week, Campari reportedly mulls expanding its global spirits
operations, Baltika pledges to step up exports to
Spain, and Ball Packaging adopts an innovative new printing
system for its beverage cans.
UK independent packaging firm Benson Group said its acquisition of
printed cartons producer Integrated Packaging is set to aid
expansion, with future investments envisaged.
Sweden-based Tetra Pak will invest €32.6m in two new centres in
Lund to develop new processing and packaging equipment for food and
drink manufacturers.
The leading French private label sweet biscuit maker, Biscuits
Poult, has received a €12.5m boost from buyout fund firm European
capital as the firm invests in the company's standing in the
domestic bakery market.
Small and mid sized companies in Europe's food and beverage sector
are looking to use more robots in their production lines, according
to a new study by Frost & Sullivan.
CSM is to invest almost €20m to expand production capacity for its
American style bakery products, as the company continues its
restructuring process after a disappointing 2005.
UK processors fail to exploit automation and robotics handling,
mainly due to concerns about the costs, return on investment and a
shortage of trained engineers, according to an industry survey.
Nestlé has finalised arrangements for a new fund that will invest
in food companies producing for the health, well-being and
nutrition sectors, as part of the group's drive to stay on top of
consumer health trends.
CCL has transformed itself into a pure speciality packaging company
with the Cdn $265 million (€164m) sale of its North American CCL
custom manufacturing division to KCP Income Fund.
Dutch bakery ingredients firm CSM continues to focus on core
business, clearing the sale of its sugar confectionery unit Malaco
Leaf to investment companies Nordic Capital and CVC Capital
Partners.
The Czech Republic, the first CEE country to be admitted into the
OECD, has attracted a large amount of foreign direct investment
(FDI) since 1990, making it the most successful new member state in
terms of FDI per capita, writes...
Norwegian group Orkla has boosted its ownership in metals maker
Elkem to over 50 per cent and launched a takeover bid for the rest,
writes Anthony Fletcher.
Foreign companies' profits in China may have increased rapidly in
the past four years, but they remain modest in comparison with
other countries with smaller markets and slower growth, according
to a surprising new report. Anthony...
FKI Logistex a global leader in integrated material handling
solutions, has launched an all-electric, free-roaming, and fully
automatable aisle-changing crane.
Management at the Royal Schouten group, parent of soy ingredients
business Acatris, has increased its share in the company under a
new shareholder structure designed to allow it to move more easily
on strategic developments, such...
Nestlé Romania has confirmed that it is to invest a further €3.5
million in its factory in Timisoara, as the company reaffirms its
ambitions to dominate the all-important wafer market in the region.
US-based Andover Controls has formed a partnership with UK-based
HVAC specialist AEC to offer plant managers greater potential for
energy saving. There is growing awareness that food processors need
to manage their energy consumption...
Job losses, reduced turnover and sluggish growth are reflected in
the third quarter results of Dutch technology company Stork Group.
But at least some of their innovations within the poultry and food
processing sector achieved recognition.
Styropack, has marked the start of its new investment programme
with an injection in the company's national design and test centre
in Lancashire and its client base throughout the UK.
Increased expenditure on brand-building and promotions helped
US-based cereals and snack foods group Kellogg to a 10 per cent
increase in sales for 2002, a good result after a turbulent year in
2001.
Ball Corporation has announced that it is to invest €75 million on
a new packaging plant in Serbia, a move that takes advantage of
growing stability in the country.
Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget, the Swedish-based global wood
products and packaging provider, is carrying out investments to
increase competitiveness in both its Swedish sawmill operations and
its German packaging operations.
KHS Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, a German-based international
manufacturer of filling and packaging systems for the beverage
trade has posted a strong set of results for the financial year
2001/2002 on the back of increased sales.
Green Earth Packaging and EarthShell Corporation have announced a
major investment programme in new equipment to allow Green Earth to
expand its production of EarthShell plates and bowls.
American Capital Strategies has confirmed that a company it
controls has completed the buyout of Automatic Bar Controls, the
dominant manufacturer and supplier of hand-held beverage dispensers
for the US food service industry.
A €91 million sugar-substitute plant in western Turkey represents
the biggest greenfield investment made outside the US by Cargill,
the Minnesota-based food producer. Yet the problems faced by
Cargill in Turkey since the factory started...
Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant Unilever has confirmed that it
is to invest $230 million (€239m) in its Mexico operations this
year, a proportion of which will be spent to upgrade and increase
production capacity.
AWB Limited is to invest A$36 million (€21m) to construct new grain
receival centres in Northern New South Wales, Australia, this year
to drive down wheat growers' supply chain costs.
In the US First Atlantic Capital, JPMorgan Partners and Aetna Life
Insurance Company have entered into a definitive agreement to sell
their portfolio company, Berry Plastics Corporation, to GS Capital
Partners 2000, a private equity...
The steady performance of the packaging industry during the recent
stock market turmoil is now a recognised phenomenon. Now more and
more financial advisors and analysts are recommending that a safe
bet for steady growth returns is...
