Amcor opens Poland packaging plant MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — Melbourne-based Amcor Ltd. has opened a new A$20 million (US$11.8 million) flexible packaging plant in Lodz, Poland, to supply laminates for the local coffee and confectionery markets.
The plant, officially opened by Chairman Stan Wallis on May 25, is on the same site as Amcor's specialty folding cartons plant.
Russell Jones, Amcor's managing director, said the new flexible polyethylene converting plant took six months to build and develop. It is fitted with a laminator and a Rotopak 3000-3R nine-color gravure printing press.
"Sales are growing quickly, particularly with local confectionery and coffee companies, and a second shift has been introduced to keep pace with the increasing demand," he said.
Jones said Amcor's latest move was a "stepping stone" into markets that had received the company well.
Amcor has experienced 10 percent growth in profit before interest and tax for the first nine months of this fiscal year. That's in part due to a 24 percent profit growth by Amcor's North American operations.
Amcor North America operates more than 20 packaging plants, including plastics companies Amcor Twinpak-North America Inc. and Amcor Sunclipse. Amcor purchased Stevens Flexible Packaging in Hagerstown, Md., in January.
Amcor corporate affairs manager John Murray said the January purchase would increase productivity at Amcor's coextrusion plant in Bowling Green, Ky., which produces PE films.
IMC Plastics closing plants in Ga., Calif.
RANCHO DOMINGUEZ, CALIF. — Industrial Molding Corp. Plastics will cease operations June 16 at its facilities in Pendergrass, Ga., and Rancho Dominguez, which employ about 250.
IMC Plastics had closed a Tualatin, Ore., plant last year and moved equipment to the California and Georgia locations.
Some investors in investment holding firm Cranbrook Plastics Inc. of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., bought IMC Plastics in November 1997. An overlapping group of Cranbrook investors acquired Waltec Plastics Inc. in 1996. Talks about aligning IMC and Waltec never progressed.
The owners installed a management team in Rancho Dominguez and indicated intentions to diversify the three locations into household consumer products and industrial applications. IMC reported fiscal 1997 sales of about $60 million. More recent figures were unavailable.
In mid-1998, IMC employed 200 in California, 85 in Georgia and 80 in Oregon, and operated 53 injection molding presses.
IMC's historic core market in California focused on housings for consumer electronics such as computers and power tools.
The Georgia operation has produced automotive interior parts, consumer electronics cases and housings, and components for lawn and garden products,
Oregon's molding community suffered when a major customer moved work to Singapore and Guadalajara, Mexico.
Waltec molds, finishes and assembles plastic components at two Midland, Ontario, facilities and reported 1999 sales of US$29.6 million.
New company Quest offers coating line
WOODSTOCK, ILL. — A new extrusion coating company is starting up in Woodstock.
Quest Films Inc. is launching a coating line for specialty thermal-laminating films used in printing, binding, converting, packaging and other industries. The line is capable of supporting sales of more than $11 million a year, estimated President Dennis Kuta.
Quest will purchase rolls of film and coat them with ethylene vinyl alcohol adhesive. Converters attach the films to various substrates using thermal rollers. The new firm can coat polyester, polypropylene, nylon, acetate, polycarbonate, iridescent and other films and coated paper. Quest also offers contract slitting and toll coating services.
Kuta said by telephone that the company initially will focus on thick films, mainly specialty types with thicknesses from 1.7-10 mils. Specialties include metalized films and hologram types.
Kuta and three other investors, all former employees of D&K Group Inc. of Elk Grove Village, Ill., formed Quest on May 1. They purchased a coating line from an undisclosed packaging company and are leasing to buy a 20,000-square-foot facility.
Kuta was vice president of sales for D&K International Inc. David Thomas, Quest's vice president of operations, was group vice president of research and development and worldwide procurement for D&K Group. The latter company produces thermal laminating films and laminating equipment.
