PLASTICS PACKAGING
Europe shows consistent growth / Lively interest from private equity / Large players significantly increase market share / PE is clear leader / PVC hit by environmental concerns / AMI study
"The love affair between the plastics packaging industry and the private equity sector hit a new high in 2007," market research institute Applied Market Information (Bristol / UK; www.amiplastics.com) says in one of the most significant observations of the latest edition of its "Plastics Packaging Producers – A review of Europe's 50 largest players". Despite the considerable fluctuations on money markets, investor interest appears unbroken, says AMI. Private equity companies now own 14 of the 50 largest European manufacturers of plastics packaging. In 2002, it was only one – Graham Packaging.
Taken together, the 50 largest European companies in this highly diversified industry had sales of around EUR 21 bn and processed more than 7.7m t of various plastics in 650 plants in 2006. This represented around 40% of Europe’s total plastic packaging consumption of 19.1m t, which is expected to grow by 3% in 2007 to 19.6m t. In terms of value, the companies surveyed by AMI accounted for 42% of the European plastics packaging market, worth EUR 50 bn. The striking aspect here is that the major players have made considerable gains. In 2002, they had just about one-third of total European sales.
The most frequently used production process for plastics packaging is film extrusion. In 2006, some 8m t of polymer was processed in this way in Europe, with the main focus on PE and PP. In second place were blow moulding with consumption of 4m t, followed by sheet extrusion and injection moulding, both accounting for around 2.5m t.
Taken together, the 50 largest European companies in this highly diversified industry had sales of around EUR 21 bn and processed more than 7.7m t of various plastics in 650 plants in 2006. This represented around 40% of Europe’s total plastic packaging consumption of 19.1m t, which is expected to grow by 3% in 2007 to 19.6m t. In terms of value, the companies surveyed by AMI accounted for 42% of the European plastics packaging market, worth EUR 50 bn. The striking aspect here is that the major players have made considerable gains. In 2002, they had just about one-third of total European sales.
The most frequently used production process for plastics packaging is film extrusion. In 2006, some 8m t of polymer was processed in this way in Europe, with the main focus on PE and PP. In second place were blow moulding with consumption of 4m t, followed by sheet extrusion and injection moulding, both accounting for around 2.5m t.
Constant swapping of the leading positions
In this lively market, Amcor Packaging (Abbotsford, Victoria / Australia; www.amcor.com) has now taken over the number one slot with European sales of EUR 2.1 bn. The Australian company pushed Alpla-Werke Lehner (Hard; www.alpla.com) off the top rung when it integrated the PET business of Schmalbach Lubeca, acquired in 2002. These rankings do not yet take into account the recent acquisition of Amcor's European bottle manufacturing facilities by PET producer La Seda de Barcelona (Barcelona / Spain; www.laseda.es), as a result of which Amcor – with just over EUR 1.5m in annual sales – will drop behind Alpla again (see Plasteurope.com of 04.07.2007).
The third largest European manufacturer of plastics packaging, Alcan Packaging (Montreal / Canada; www.alcanpackaging.com), is up for sale by aluminium giant Rio Tinto Alcan – see Plasteurope.com of 20.07.2007 – formed after Rio Tinto’s acquisition of Canada’s Alcan. The hottest takeover candidate at present is Sealed Air (Saddle Brook, New Jersey / USA; www.sealedair.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 27.08.2007. The US company is now the European number five in terms of sales, but would leapfrog to the top with a considerable lead if the deal goes through.
Source: Applied Market Information
Almost all the major companies listed in the AMI review have undergone significant structural changes or come under new ownership in the past few years, with most of the deals involving private equity firms. One of the most spectacular recent events was the purchase of Autobar Packaging (Lyon / France; www.autobarpackaging.com) by Sun Capital Partners – see Plasteurope.com of 24.11.2006. Major attention was also aroused by the sale of Klöckner Pentaplast (kp, Montabaur / Germany; www.kpfilms.com) by its private equity owner Cinven to the private equity giant Blackstone – see Plasteurope.com of 09.05.2007.Additionally, One Equity Partners sold its stake in Mauser (Brühl / Germany; www.mausergroup.com) to Dubai International Capital – see Plasteurope.com of 04.05.2007.
In 2006, polyethylene accounted for around 10m t of the 19m t of polymers processed into plastics packaging. In Europe, converters tend to use a wide range of PE grades, with LDPE, HDPE and LLDPE being the most common. In recent years, MDPE (which is really an HDPE at the lower end of the density scale) has been seen increasingly in its own right. According to Plasteurope.com estimates, around 75,000 t of this material was processed in Europe in 2006. A wide range of copolymers also is converted into packaging. Metallocene products currently account for around 4% of the market, with an upward tendency.
Taking second place in European plastics packaging consumption is polypropylene with around 3.3m t used in 2006. Since 2001, PP has shown consistent average growth of 4.2% a year. Especially in caps and closures but also in thin-wall containers and flexible food packaging, it has pushed out not only other materials, but also other plastics.
The fastest growth has been seen for PET, now the third most commonly used plastic, with demand of 3m t in 2006. The main reason for this is the position it has attained in the market for carbonated soft drinks, although APET films also are enjoying good demand. PET is becoming increasingly popular for some rigid film packaging uses such as cosmetics and toiletries.
Polystyrene, with consumption of 1.6m t in 2006, is also seeing fairly strong demand from the packaging sector. The figure includes EPS, for which Plasteurope.com estimates European packaging consumption at about 300,000 t.
The third largest European manufacturer of plastics packaging, Alcan Packaging (Montreal / Canada; www.alcanpackaging.com), is up for sale by aluminium giant Rio Tinto Alcan – see Plasteurope.com of 20.07.2007 – formed after Rio Tinto’s acquisition of Canada’s Alcan. The hottest takeover candidate at present is Sealed Air (Saddle Brook, New Jersey / USA; www.sealedair.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 27.08.2007. The US company is now the European number five in terms of sales, but would leapfrog to the top with a considerable lead if the deal goes through.
| Top 10 plastics packaging producers in Europe 2006 according to sales (Total: 50 bn EUR) | ||
| Company | Head office location | Plastics technology used |
| Amcor | Australia | Injection moulding / Film extrusion |
| Alpla-Werke | Austria | Blow moulding / Injection moulding |
| Alcan Packaging | France | Film extrusion / Injection moulding |
| Huhtamaki | Finland | Sheet extrusion / Film extrusion / Injection moulding |
| Sealed Air | USA | Film extrusion / Sheet extrusion |
| Linpac | UK | Sheet extrusion / Injection moulding |
| RPC | UK | Blow moulding / Injection moulding / Sheet thermoforming |
| RKW | Germany | Film extrusion |
| Global Closure Systems | France | Blow moulding / Injection moulding |
| Klöckner Pentaplast | Germany | Sheet |
Almost all the major companies listed in the AMI review have undergone significant structural changes or come under new ownership in the past few years, with most of the deals involving private equity firms. One of the most spectacular recent events was the purchase of Autobar Packaging (Lyon / France; www.autobarpackaging.com) by Sun Capital Partners – see Plasteurope.com of 24.11.2006. Major attention was also aroused by the sale of Klöckner Pentaplast (kp, Montabaur / Germany; www.kpfilms.com) by its private equity owner Cinven to the private equity giant Blackstone – see Plasteurope.com of 09.05.2007.Additionally, One Equity Partners sold its stake in Mauser (Brühl / Germany; www.mausergroup.com) to Dubai International Capital – see Plasteurope.com of 04.05.2007.
In 2006, polyethylene accounted for around 10m t of the 19m t of polymers processed into plastics packaging. In Europe, converters tend to use a wide range of PE grades, with LDPE, HDPE and LLDPE being the most common. In recent years, MDPE (which is really an HDPE at the lower end of the density scale) has been seen increasingly in its own right. According to Plasteurope.com estimates, around 75,000 t of this material was processed in Europe in 2006. A wide range of copolymers also is converted into packaging. Metallocene products currently account for around 4% of the market, with an upward tendency.
Taking second place in European plastics packaging consumption is polypropylene with around 3.3m t used in 2006. Since 2001, PP has shown consistent average growth of 4.2% a year. Especially in caps and closures but also in thin-wall containers and flexible food packaging, it has pushed out not only other materials, but also other plastics.
The fastest growth has been seen for PET, now the third most commonly used plastic, with demand of 3m t in 2006. The main reason for this is the position it has attained in the market for carbonated soft drinks, although APET films also are enjoying good demand. PET is becoming increasingly popular for some rigid film packaging uses such as cosmetics and toiletries.
Polystyrene, with consumption of 1.6m t in 2006, is also seeing fairly strong demand from the packaging sector. The figure includes EPS, for which Plasteurope.com estimates European packaging consumption at about 300,000 t.
 | |
The popularity of PVC packaging plummeted to below 800,000 t in 2006, a decline of 80,000 t against 2001. One of the reasons is its dwindling use in the bottle segment, where it has been almost completely replaced by PET. Another reason is environmental concern, which has pressured the use of PVC for film applications generally and food contact applications in particular, AMI says.
Food packaging leads the list
Some 45% of all plastics packaging is consumed by the food and beverage sector, which uses practically the entire range of polymers. Other important markets include industrial products, household chemicals, cosmetics and hygiene articles, medical technology and pharmaceuticals. Here, too, there are uses for the entire range of flexible and rigid plastics. For industrial products, the main applications are transport packaging for chemicals, fertilisers and lubricants – including sacks (PE), drums (HDPE) and rigid and flexible inliners for containers (HDPE and PP).
Household chemicals are sold mainly in HDPE packaging. Fairly recently, detergents and fabric softeners have started to be sold in multilayer stand-up pouches. The market for cosmetics and hygiene articles consists predominantly of rigid packs made of HDPE, PP, PVC and, increasingly, PET. PVC is still popular for medical applications, predominantly blister packs.
Household chemicals are sold mainly in HDPE packaging. Fairly recently, detergents and fabric softeners have started to be sold in multilayer stand-up pouches. The market for cosmetics and hygiene articles consists predominantly of rigid packs made of HDPE, PP, PVC and, increasingly, PET. PVC is still popular for medical applications, predominantly blister packs.
 |
Book Service:
"Plastics Packaging Producers – A review of Europe's 50 largest players", 3rd edition, AMI 2007, 199 pages, soft cover: EUR 510.00 + VAT, PIE-No: 47242.
"Plastics Packaging Producers – A review of Europe's 50 largest players", 3rd edition, AMI 2007, 199 pages, soft cover: EUR 510.00 + VAT, PIE-No: 47242.
19.10.2007 Plasteurope.com [209101]
Published on 19.10.2007
German version of this article...