North American customers soon will be able to buy polyethylene film made in the Middle East through a joint venture between Exopack Holding Corp. of Spartanburg, S.C., and Indevco Group of Ajaltoun, Lebanon.
The joint venture between Exopack, a major maker of plastic and paper packaging, and Indevco initially will include installing film production equipment at Indevco's packaging plant in Zouk Mosbeh, Lebanon. The new capacity will make coextruded film for flexible packaging, and will be distributed by Exopack as part of its family of film products, officials said in an April 29 news release.
The venture “brings the first cost-effective films from the Middle East to customers in North America,” officials said. They described the deal as first phase of a long-term strategy to build multiple film production sites in the Middle East.
Exopack — a portfolio company of Sun Capital Partners Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla. — has annual packaging sales of about $675 million, including $350 million in plastics-related business in North America.
Indevco bills itself as the oldest and largest flexible packaging firm in the Middle East. The privately held firm was founded in 1955 by Georges Frem and employs more than 7,500 at 50 manufacturing plants and industrial and commercial enterprises.