NEWS
German processors saw sales decline in 2020
GKV, the trade association for plastics processors in Germany, has revealed that, based on its annual survey of members, the industry suffered a difficult year in 2020. Sales were 5.6% lower at €61.5bn, while the total amount of plastics pro- cessed was 2.8% down to 14.2m tonnes. Employee numbers fell by 4.1% to 322,000 in 3,017 companies. The association added
that companies are fluctuat- ing between confidence and uncertainty in their outlook even more than they had been in 2019. About half of those who were surveyed expect sales to rise again in 2021, but they also expect profits to fall.
Demand in the packag- ing and vehicle/transport
SyBridge expands in moulds
Sales fell by 5.6%, says GKV
sectors picked up again in the fourth quarter of 2020, the association added. However, restricted raw material availability and increased raw material prices in these areas will keep the recovery fragile. One clear positive has been an increased public appreciation of the role of
plastics in the Covid-19 crisis. GKV president Roland Roth said that the industry intends to build on that by publicising its sustainability credentials more. To this end, it is pooling its PR resources to illustrate the benefits of plastic products in the circular economy. �
www.gkv.de
New majority owner for Logoplaste
The Carlyle Group is to sell the majority stake it has owned for the last five years in rigid packaging group Logoplaste to Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board. Senior managers Filipe de Botton and Alexandre Relvas will retain
their stake of about 40%. Ontario Teachers is
Canada’s largest single- profession pension plan and a major private equity investor. The company said that it intends to continue investing to support Logoplaste’s growth.
Since Carlyle’s investment
in 2016, Logoplaste has grown both through the development of additional facilities across Europe, North America and Brazil, and through acquisitions, notably a majority share- holding in Poland’s Mas- terchem. It has also tripled its sales in North America. In 2020, Logoplaste announced Mission Zero+, a commitment to build a fully functioning industrial plant with zero emissions. It also completed an ESG term loan which links its interest payments to CO2 savings. �
www.logoplaste.com
www.injectionworld.com
Michigan-based tooling and mould company SyBridge Technologies has completed the acquisitions of Active Industrial Solutions (AIS) and AIS Tennessee, via the Concours Technologies subsidiary. Terms were not disclosed but it is known that this is SyBridge’s largest expansion since being created by a $200m equity investment by New York-based Crestview Partners in 2019. AIS is headquartered
in Windsor, Ontario, is a tooling systems provider that offers plastic injec- tion moulds and lighting reflex components for the mobility industry. AIS Tennessee is dedicated to mould repair and maintenance. Concours is also Windsor-based, with other sites in Alabama and Mexico. SyBridge said that the
combination of AIS and Concours “will create the largest tooling and mould solutions provider in North America”. It will have both greater economy of scale and wider capabili- ties in highly complex precision tooling for lighting applications, particularly in the fast- growing lighting, fascia and grille segment. The deal includes a service facility in the southern USA, adding to three other customer service centres in North America. �
www.sybridgetech.com
March 2021 | INJECTION WORLD 9
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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