Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2023 winners
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Bioplastics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
December 01, 2014 01:00 AM

Merger to create major player in bioplastics film

Kate Tilley
Correspondent
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — A proposed merger between two Australian bioplastics companies will create a publicly listed entity with annual sales of almost A$30 million (US$25 million).

    Melbourne-based, publicly listed Cardia Bioplastics Ltd. and Melbourne-based privately held Stellar Films Group Pty. Ltd. have reached an agreement to merge, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

    Cardia managing director Frank Glatz, in a phone interview with Plastics News from Singapore, said merging the companies makes sense because they have worked together for about five years and are both pioneering sustainable plastic packaging products, particularly for the personal hygiene products market.

    Glatz is attending Outlook Asia 2014, an international conference for non-woven personal care products in Singapore, where he launched a new film, Cardia Biohybrid, developed in partnership with Stellar.

    Glatz said Biohybrid was developed for the personal care/hygiene products industry. It is a mix of renewable thermoplastics, mainly corn starch, and traditional resins, which can include polyethylene and polypropylene. There are eight resins with differing qualities for varied applications.

    The proposed merger needs shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting, which Glatz expects to occur in late January, and Australian regulatory authorities' approval. Both companies are conducting due diligence

    before a deal is finalized.

    “Stellar is the more stable business, with significantly higher sales revenue,” Glatz told Plastics News. Cardia posted 2014 sales of A$5 million, although its sales for the most recently completed quarter were A$2.1 million, which is annualized at A$8.4 million. Stellar's 2014 sales were A$21 million.

    Cardia was established in 2002 and Stellar has operated for about 25 years.

    Cardia said the two companies have cooperated closely over the last three years, and that benefits of the merger include scale and geographic footprint of the combined operations, market access and reach, production and operational savings, complementary intellectual property positions, resources to deliver business strategy and high-quality management teams.

    Glatz said the companies considered a joint venture or continuing their close relationship as separate entities but there are advantages in a merger. He said no name for the new company has been developed yet.

    Stellar has two factories, in Melbourne and Selangor, Malaysia. Cardia has three factories — one each in Melbourne; Nanjing, China; and São Paulo. Both companies have business development offices and distributors around the globe.

    Stellar manufactures films for the disposable diapers, feminine hygiene, incontinence and medical disposable markets, and for packaging surgical instruments, surgical drapes and gowns.

    Glatz said the joint development of Cardia Biohybrid involved Cardia developing the technology and Stellar manufacturing the product. While many bioplastics contain 10 to 20 percent renewable content, he said Biohybrid can contain up to 50 percent renewable thermoplastics but still be used in traditional converting applications, like film, injection and blow molding, extrusions and coatings.

    The hygiene product market has a lot of potential growth and is seeking more sustainable products, so Stellar and Cardia are a “complementary fit,” he said.

    Cardia has just expanded its Nanjing operation, building a new factory that opened in September. Three new production lines began in September and are operating at full capacity; another six film extrusion and bag-making lines are being installed in Nanjing to meet Cardia's order pipeline, in particular for dog waste bags and other waste management products.

    Glatz said there is a lot of demand in China for compostable bags, used to dispose of kitchen and green waste. Many city and municipal councils are moving to compostable bags to divert organics from landfall.

    He said Cardia is in talks with some San Francisco councils, but will not say more.

    Cardia's Brazilian film and bag manufacturing plant opened in September and has capacity for 500 million retail carrier bags a year. Glatz said Brazil also uses the Biohybrid product in retail bags.

    Glatz said Cardia has signed a supply agreement with bubble-wrap manufacturer Sealed Air Corp., of Elmwood Park, N.J., to use Cardia compostable films in its new PakNatural Biodegradable Cushion Bags. He would not divulge the contract's value, citing contract confidentiality constraints, but said he is confident “as we go forward it will be a large contract and we will grow with them.”

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Treaty talks end with plans for a draft agreement, but hurdles remain
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    PVC compounder Manner launches $54M expansion in Illinois
    2
    Debate exposes divisions in plastics treaty talks
    3
    Treaty talks end with plans for a draft agreement, but hurdles remain
    4
    India's Vasantha invests $7M to open mold making support firm in Ohio
    5
    Graham Packaging wins validation for GHG emissions reduction
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2023 winners
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Bioplastics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified