Weener Plastics (Ede / The Netherlands; www.wppg.com) said it is continuing its expansion in emerging markets with the acquisition of Latin American packaging solutions provider Proenfar (Bogotá / Colombia) from private equity company Altra Investments (Bogotá; www.altrainv.com). Proenfar has four production plants in Colombia, Argentina and Mexico with more than 1,600 employees, and exports its products to more than 20 countries across the Americas, said Weener.

The acquisition strengthens Weener’s customer relationships with Latin American and multinational companies, and enables it to expand into pharmaceutical packaging, the company said. Proenfar also fits with Weener’s focus on innovative packaging technologies, enabling growth in product categories such as deodorant packaging.

Two months ago, Weener had announced the acquisition of Russian competitor Artpack (Dzerzhinsk / Russia) – see Plasteurope.com of 28.02.2018. In October 2017, the Dutch company acquired Orange Products Plasticos (OPB, Santo Amaro da Imperatriz, Santa Catarina / Brazil), a specialist in the production of balls for roll-on deodorants.

Proenfar president Mario Vergara Corradine said, "In recent years, we have grown Proenfar from a local Colombian business to a leading Latin American player. Together with Weener, we are ideally positioned to take the next step on our growth path." The agreement was signed on 23 April 2018, and the purchase price was not disclosed.