Pharmaceutical and recycling expansion, new markets and products: Alpla invested in further development and growth in 2023. The international packaging and recycling specialist closed the financial year with revenue of 4.7 billion euros. Lower material and energy costs, combined with exchange rate effects, led to a moderate decline in revenue. Value added remained stable. Strong growth in Africa was offset by weaker demand in North and Central America and China.
In 2023, the Alpla Group invested in new production plants, recycling facilities, technologies and strategic acquisitions worldwide. The company is thus continuing its further development and laying the foundations for the future. With annual revenue of 4.7 billion euros compared to the previous year's figure of 5.1 billion euros, revenue fell by around eight per cent. The moderate decline primarily reflects the industry-wide normalisation of material costs At the same time, exchange rate effects had an impact. While Alpla expanded in the growth markets of Africa and Asia, demand in North and Central America and China stagnated. In Europe, the company strengthened its presence in the pharmaceutical, recycling and industrial sectors.
„The year of high costs was followed by a year of mixed demand and fluctuation across the industry in 2023. Nevertheless, we achieved stable value creation, invested extensively, developed innovative products and expanded capacities. This has paved the way for long-term growth.“
Philipp Lehner, CEO Alpla
ALPLA produces safe, affordable and sustainable packaging solutions in 47 countries. The workforce totalled 23,300 employees in 2023. The number of sites increased from 190 to 196 due to new buildings, expansions and acquisitions.
Expansion and pharmaceutical focus
Alpla opened up new markets in Africa and strengthened its presence on this continent through new buildings and capacity expansions. In 2023, the company entered Morocco and started with the construction of a state-of-the-art recycling plant in South Africa. In addition to the AMET region (Africa, Middle East & Turkey), Asia and North America are further growth markets. The company plans to focus its investments in these regions as well as in the injection moulding and recycling sectors.
The development and production of pharmaceutical packaging under the ALPLApharma brand was taken over in 2023 by the joint venture with Inden Pharma and capacity expansions in Europe. The division is also set to grow further this year. Large-volume containers for industrial applications have been sold under the new ALPLAindustrial brand since 2023. Alpla expanded its offering as a system provider last year by entering the pump market. As the new majority shareholder in the Danish company Paboco the packaging specialist is also pushing ahead with the market launch of fully recyclable paper bottles.
Recycling target in sight
Alpla is on track for recycling in 2023 despite a slight decline in demand: At least 25 per cent recycled material is to be used in packaging by 2025. The current figure is around 20 per cent. To cover its resources, Alpla relies on high-quality PET and HDPE recycling material from our own production. Every year, more than 50 million euros are invested in new plants, production lines and technologies. In 2023, the installed and projected output capacity was increased to 350,000 tonnes - already twice as much as in 2021.
By founding the ALPLArecycling brand in 2023, the company emphasised the increasing importance of the division. Further investments will follow in 2024, as Philipp Lehner notes: „Circular economy and design for recycling are the future. We are already preparing for this today with a massive expansion of our capacity. The sharp rise in demand for recycled HDPE confirms our strategy. As a strong partner, we offer global customers worldwide high-quality solutions.“
Source: Alpla
