AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND — Auckland-based Astron Plastics Pty. Ltd. will become one of Australasia's largest industrial plastics recycling firms after buying Sydney, Australia-based OJ Plastics for an undisclosed sum, said David Chaston, Astron chief executive officer.
The new operation will process 88 million pounds per year of recycled and virgin resins.
OJ Plastics was part of Australian Challenge (Operations) Pty. Ltd. of Smithfield, Australia. It now will operate as an Astron unit.
Astron processes plastics scrap, including polyethylene, polystyrene and polypropylene, into manufacturing-grade resins. It also produces virgin PE sheet and rotational molding powders.
It now will operate six manufacturing sites, one each in Brisbane and Sydney, and two each in Melbourne and New Zealand. Chaston said the purchase has put Astron ahead of its expansion plans.
``Our ability to buy [OJ Plastics] has put us many years ahead than we would have been if we had to start new operations'' in Melbourne and Sydney, he said. Astron will keep the OJ Plastics name for the time being.
