Boxal, based in France, supplies technically advanced aluminium bottles and aerosols to the food, beverage players such as Coca-Cola and Heineken. It also produces packaging for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics sectors.
Ardagh said the deal would see it boost its aluminium output by almost 1bn containers a year from its news asset’s plants in France and the Netherlands.
Szenna Pack has a single facility also making aluminium containers and is located in Hungary.
The new output – totalling around 900m aluminium containers annually will boost the group’s current yearly output of 13bn.
"We are pleased to acquire the Boxal and Szenna assets as they will significantly enhance our position in the European aerosol market,” said Niall Wall, Ardagh Group CEO. “These technologically advanced businesses will enhance our product offering and will add value to our current activities.”
Premium packaging
Ardagh said the trend in the growth of premium packaging had been instrumental in making the deal.
“At the moment we are satisfying the demand for high-end and premium packaging,” Wall told FoodProductionDaily.com recently.“We see the acquisition not as a move into the premium container market but as more of an expansion.”
He added: “To date we have not had much involvement in the European market, so we see Boxal as a good opportunity to expand our activities. We already have a lot of experience with aluminium packaging in Australia and we are looking to expand this to Europe.”