Boxmore Packaging, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, will become a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Austrian packaging specialist ALPLA, a supplier of plastic packaging. Boxmore Packaging specialises in PET preforms, PET bottles and closures and currently employs around 1000 people at nine locations.
„The African continent is an attractive growth market for us. Following our activities with ALPLA TABA in North Africa, the acquisition of Boxmore Packaging now also gives us a broad basis for entering the South African market,“ says ALPLA CEO Günther Lehner.
ALPLA acquires 100 per cent of Boxmore Packaging. All employees and locations will be taken over by ALPLA, and the management structure will also remain in place. The current management team, led by Len Engelbrecht (Boxmore CEO), will continue with his responsibilities and will also take over responsibility for the integration and management of ALPLA's existing business in Africa. For the time being, the company will continue to operate as a member of the ALPLA Group under its current name.
ALPLA has been operating a production site in Johannesburg since 2014. At the end of 2015, ALPLA took over the Egyptian site of Argo S.A. in El Obour. In March 2016, ALPLA strengthened its market presence in North Africa and the Middle East with a joint venture with the Egyptian Taba Group. The company has been operating under the name ALPLA TABA since the beginning of 2017. In spring 2017, ALPLA TABA opened a new site in 10th of Ramadan City, which meets the latest production standards. With the Boxmore Packaging sites, ALPLA now has a total of 13 production facilities in Africa[/infotext].
Boxmore Packaging - Leading in South Africa
Founded in 1995, Boxmore Packaging is recognised as the market leader in southern Africa for PET preforms and bottles (ISBM technology) and Closures mainly for beverages, but also for food, home & personal care, pharmaceutical products and chemicals. The head office is located in the Samrand industrial zone near the South African city of Johannesburg. Around 1000 employees at nine production sites currently produce around 4 billion units of the above-mentioned products every year. Boxmore Packaging's customers are located in more than 20 countries in Africa and on the islands in the Indian Ocean.
„Both the products and the customer structure of Boxmore Packaging fit in very well with our corporate strategy,“ emphasises Christoph Riedlsperger, Regional Director for Africa, Middle East and Turkey. ALPLA's active customer base includes numerous international consumer goods groups and long-standing customers, as well as local companies previously unknown to ALPLA. „This acquisition, the largest in our company's history, brings us a significant step closer to our goals on the African continent,“ says Günther Lehner. Len Engelbrecht, CEO Boxmore, is delighted with the strategic partnership: „Our joint endeavour to continue our targeted growth in Africa is an exciting challenge. We will utilise Boxmore's current presence and existing relationships in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve this.‘
The takeover was signed on 5 July 2017 and its implementation is subject to legal and regulatory approval by the competition authorities. The contracting parties have agreed not to disclose any financial details.
