PET player APPE refutes reports of shelved expansion plans

15-Jul-2012 - Last updated on 17-Jul-2012 at 07:16 GMT

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APPE has refuted reports that parent company La Seda de Barcelona (LSB) has shelved plans to grow the plastics packaging business after failing to raise sufficient share capital.

Last Tuesday, LSB announced the suspension of its share capital increase plan launched on June 15 – which raised only €12.3m rather than the €40m aimed at, which was in large part meant to “finance the company’s growth project for APPE, and consolidate its international leadership”.

Plastics Today ran a headline stating that LSB had suspended its expansion plans for APPE, in an article published last Friday, but APPE marketing manager, Kinza Sutton, told BeverageDaily.com she thought that the article was misleading.

No effect on expansion plans

“As far as I am aware there is no effect to our current expansion plans,” she said.

“To be honest, I don’t quite know where Plastics Today got this idea from that LSB are shelving its expansion plans,” she said.

“What’s happened is that a share capital increase plan from LSB has been withdrawn, as a statement on its website makes clear. That’s going back to the board to decide the next step – but nothing has been officially decided as yet, as the board hasn’t reconvened yet.”

Sutton added that PET pre-form, bottle and container manufacturer APPE still planned to open its new €15m site in Poland (APPE Polska) from December 1.

She told this publication in March that APPE’s planned Polish presence would enable a more localised supply base for customers, and allow it to maximise new sales opportunities in Eastern Europe.

HDPE move still planned

But Sutton denied rumours that the new site – since contract wins with two unnamed international brands had allowed APPE to move into Poland – had anything to do with Coca-Cola.

“The details will be coming out in the next couple of months. We’ve actually got an ongoing promotional plan leading up to the official opening in December,” she said.

Sutton said that APPE still planned to open an Italian production site – initially targeting water, soft drinks and personal care – in 2013, while the company still planned to move into HDPE (with the firm promising better processing methods) for the first time in the near future.

“We’ve actually got a meeting about that tomorrow. But there won’t be any movement on that over the next two months because, with the holiday season coming up, we want to get maximum publicity regarding this,” Sutton said.