AQUAFIL
Fibre manufacturer to expand PA compounding activities in China and the US / Sales expected to reach EUR 450m
Fibre manufacturer and polyamide compounder Aquafil (Arco / Italy; www.aquafil.com) plans to raise output at its US subsidiary Aquafil USA (Cartersville, Georgia; www.aquafilusa.com) and its offshoot in Jiaxing / China. All in all, the Italian company is planning to invest some EUR 46m this year, most of which has been earmarked for subsidiary Aquafil Engineering Plastics (Arco / Italy; www.aquafil.com).
Some EUR 10m are to be set aside to raise PA 6 and PA 6.6 compounding capacity at Aquafil USA’s Cartersville headquarters. The site’s current nameplate capacity was not disclosed, although Aquafil did say the expansion is due to come on stream by the end of Q1. An additional EUR 15.6m have been earmarked for a new recycling plant, likely to be located in Arco and scheduled for completion in December 2011.
In addition, a new 3,500 t/y plant is to be built for Aquafil Fibres & Polymers Jiaxing in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province at an investment cost of EUR 12m. Although detailed plans for a further capacity expansion already exist, it is unlikely that action will be taken in Jiaxing before the year 2012. Thanks to the automotive boom in China, Aquafil’s Asian business is developing nicely. In 2009, the region had accounted for just 1% of revenues – a number that has quadrupled in the space of a year. Once the new capacity comes on stream in Jiaxing, CEO Guilio Bonazzi expects capacity to double yet again.
A subsidiary of Gruppo Bonazzi, Aquafil says it has polimerisation capacity for 90,500 t/y of PA 6 at its sites in Arco and Ljubljana / Slovakia. In addition, the company is capable of compounding 27,500 t/y of PA 6 and PA 6.6 in Arco. Aquafil receives most of its caprolactam feedstock from Aquachemia (Zilina / Slovakia), which has a purported nameplate capacity of 25,000 t/y.
Following a brief dry spell, Aquafil reported around EUR 400m in consolidated sales last year, which brings it back to 2007 levels (EUR 394m). In the wake of the economic crisis, sales had dropped to EUR 338m in 2009. As for the future, CEO Bonazzi plans to raise revenues to EUR 450m within three years.
About 75% of Aquafil revenues are generated by exports and 83% of total company sales are generated by the “Fibre sintetiche, Polimeri e Intermedi Chimici” (Feedstock, polymers, fibres and staple fibres) division. All in all, Aquafil’s compounding activities account for 17% of total revenues.
The development of Ebitda mirrored that of company revenues, rising from a low of EUR 34m to EUR 48m last year. Despite a brief foray into the red, the company managed to weather the crisis without shedding a significant proportion of its workforce.
Last year UK investment fund Hutton Collins invested EUR 45m in Aquafil, giving it control over 22.3% of company shares. This financial injection allowed the Italian company to make significant anticyclical investments, CEO Bonazzi explained.
Some EUR 10m are to be set aside to raise PA 6 and PA 6.6 compounding capacity at Aquafil USA’s Cartersville headquarters. The site’s current nameplate capacity was not disclosed, although Aquafil did say the expansion is due to come on stream by the end of Q1. An additional EUR 15.6m have been earmarked for a new recycling plant, likely to be located in Arco and scheduled for completion in December 2011.
In addition, a new 3,500 t/y plant is to be built for Aquafil Fibres & Polymers Jiaxing in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province at an investment cost of EUR 12m. Although detailed plans for a further capacity expansion already exist, it is unlikely that action will be taken in Jiaxing before the year 2012. Thanks to the automotive boom in China, Aquafil’s Asian business is developing nicely. In 2009, the region had accounted for just 1% of revenues – a number that has quadrupled in the space of a year. Once the new capacity comes on stream in Jiaxing, CEO Guilio Bonazzi expects capacity to double yet again.
A subsidiary of Gruppo Bonazzi, Aquafil says it has polimerisation capacity for 90,500 t/y of PA 6 at its sites in Arco and Ljubljana / Slovakia. In addition, the company is capable of compounding 27,500 t/y of PA 6 and PA 6.6 in Arco. Aquafil receives most of its caprolactam feedstock from Aquachemia (Zilina / Slovakia), which has a purported nameplate capacity of 25,000 t/y.
Following a brief dry spell, Aquafil reported around EUR 400m in consolidated sales last year, which brings it back to 2007 levels (EUR 394m). In the wake of the economic crisis, sales had dropped to EUR 338m in 2009. As for the future, CEO Bonazzi plans to raise revenues to EUR 450m within three years.
About 75% of Aquafil revenues are generated by exports and 83% of total company sales are generated by the “Fibre sintetiche, Polimeri e Intermedi Chimici” (Feedstock, polymers, fibres and staple fibres) division. All in all, Aquafil’s compounding activities account for 17% of total revenues.
The development of Ebitda mirrored that of company revenues, rising from a low of EUR 34m to EUR 48m last year. Despite a brief foray into the red, the company managed to weather the crisis without shedding a significant proportion of its workforce.
Last year UK investment fund Hutton Collins invested EUR 45m in Aquafil, giving it control over 22.3% of company shares. This financial injection allowed the Italian company to make significant anticyclical investments, CEO Bonazzi explained.
03.03.2011 Plasteurope.com [218691-0]
Published on 03.03.2011
German version of this article...