K2019 NEWS
Albis Plastic makes compounds a standalone business unit
Albis Plastic revealed plans to split its distribution and compounding operations. The move, which the company says it has been planning for two years, will be completed by the middle of 2020. “We are separating our
own product portfolio from our distribution activities. It will give the businesses more focus—distribution and compounding needs different skill sets,” said Albis Plastic CEO Philip O Krahn. “We are not selling the compounding business,” he emphasised. The two new companies
will operate as standalone entities. The Albis name will remain with the distribution operation, which will be run by the company’s current VP of Distribution Horst Klink. The compounding business will operate under a new and yet-to-be-decided name under the direction of current Chief Sales Officer Ian Mills. Albis reported sales of
around €1.1bn last year. Distribution accounted for around 70% of that, with compounding and tolling work making up the remainder. Krahn said 2019 sales “would be lower” due to slower market conditions that had reduced volumes, particularly from the European automotive sector, but that was not a factor in the restructuring. Krahn said the move would have a minimal impact on its customers, the
22
Albis CEO Philip O Krahn: Giving the business more focus
majority of which buy only distributed products. “Around 40 to 160 out of our 13,000 customers will be moved to compounding, which will have a small sales force, but for most there will be no change,” he said. What those compounding customers will gain from, according to Krahn, is an increased focus on technical solutions. “We have a very strong product development structure in the business. We want to focus even more on technical solutions for customers—we do not want to make me-too products,” he said.
Albis has invested around €25m in its compounding operations over the past two years. This has seen a major debottlenecking and the installation of two new lines at its site at Zülpich and two more lines at Obernburg in Germany, the commissioning of a dedicated medical compounding line at
COMPOUNDING WORLD | November 2019
The new un-named Albis compounding business will be headed by Ian Mills
Hamburg in Germany, the addition of two more lines at Changshu in China, and the resumption of US manufacturing with the start-up of its plant at Duncan in the US. Further targeted investment is likely. “From what I see today I don’t see more investment [in US capacity] in the next two years. But it is different in Asia. If the trend continues I can see us investing again at our site at Changshu,” Krahn says. For Europe, investment is likely to be focused on areas such as medical, where the company is reporting growth rates of around 10%, and recycling. Krahn said the company had made considerable investment at the Wipag recycling and compounding sites at Gardelegen and Neuburg in Germany. Albis acquired the Wipag business in 2017 and operates it as a standalone activity. Krahn said it was yet
Distribution operations will be managed by Horst Klink
to decide whether to keep it that way or to integrate it within the new
compounding business unit. The latest addition to the
Wipag offering is what Krahn describes as “Recycling as a Service.” He said it aims to help customers that want to make more use of production waste or material from other waste streams but do not have the equipment to do so. “We can offer shredding, delamination, de-painting or sorting as an additional service to our customers,” he said. n Albis has also announced plans to end compound production at its plant at Knutsford in the UK and relocate it to its German plants at Hamburg, Zülpich and Obernburg. The move is aimed at improving group efficiency at a time of increasing competitive pressure, said Ian Mills. �
www.albis.com
www.compoundingworld.com
PHOTO: ALBIS
PHOTO: ALBIS
PHOTO: ALBIS
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86
