Klockner-Pentaplast of America Inc. purchased its second South American sheet-manufacturing operation last week for an undisclosed amount. Following the October construction of a 500,000-square-foot extrusion and calendering plant in Salto, Brazil, Klockner purchased Arcor SAIC, a 54,000-square-foot calendering operation in Villa del Totoral, Argentina.
The company will trade under the name Klockner-Pentaplast de Argentina. Shawn Somerday, former plant manager of Klockner Barrier Films in Gordonsville, has been appointed vice president and general manager of the Argentina plant.
With about 50 employees operating one calendering line, the plant forms rigid PVC sheet for pharmaceutical, food and general-purpose packaging, said company spokeswoman Nancy Ryan.
Ryan said the South American expansions are not coincidence; the business climate on the continent has been favorable for the past 15 years, and Arcor is a market leader in rigid vinyl film and sheet in South America.
"We have been selling into the Latin American market for 15 years," Ryan said during a telephone interview from Klockner's Gordonsville, Va., headquarters. "It's a growing market and Arcor has an excellent reputation that very much mirrors ours as far as high-quality film."
Currently, Arcor generates sales of about 10 million euros ($9.7 million). Ryan would not divulge how much sales are expected to increase under Klockner.
Klockner-Pentaplast of America placed 22nd on Plastics News' survey of North American film and sheet manufacturers, with estimated sales of $231 million.
Klockner-Pentaplast is one of the largest suppliers of rigid plastic sheet and film in the Americas. Products include vinyl, glycol-modified and amorphous PET, and barrier films for pharmaceutical, medical device, food and general purpose thermoform packaging.
Klockner's parent company, Klockner-Werke AG, is headquartered in Duisburg, Germany.