At the end of June 2003, the PVC film specialist, Gallazzi Spa (I-21049 Tradate; www.gallazzi.com), acquired Lucchesi Spa (I-40138 Bologna; www.lucchesi.it) for an unnamed price. Gallazzi´s product portfolio has until now been based on two main activities: pharmaceutical blister packs (“Flexapharm”) and PVC adhesive tapes. In the two Italian factories in Tradate and Gallarate, the company claims to have a total capacity for PVC processing of 46,000 t/y. The French subsidiary, Ceduliose SA (F-94100 St. Maur de Fosses) fabricates and prints PVC packaging film for the pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, hygiene, agricultural and food industries.

Lucchesi´s main business is the production of PVC rigid film for Smart Cards. The company has some 270 employees and operates four calendering units with an estimated capacity of over 25,000 t/y. The sales volume is around EUR 60m. Lucchesi regards itself as the European market leader for credit cards with, it says, an export quota of over 85%.