Rexam will close more of its plastics packaging plants in the US as it integrates the business it bought from Owens-Illinois (O-I) last June.
In an exclusive interview with Packaging News, Rexam chief executive Leslie Van de Walle said: "Obviously we have more [closures] coming because we do not need 30 plants in the US."
In December 2007, the company announced the closure of its plants in West Lafayette, Indiana, and Rossville, Georgia, which make medical diagnostic products and diagnostic healthcare packaging, respectively.
Van de Walle said that O-I Plastics brought economies of scale and growth potential to Rexam, particularly as it greatly increased the company's presence in the US.
The O-I Plastics business comprises 19 manufacturing sites, 14 of which are located in the US and Puerto Rico.
Van de Walle said he was pleased with the O-I Plastics acquisition, despite criticism from analysts at the time of purchase that Rexam paid too much for the company.
Rexam paid $1.86bn (£930m) in cash for O-I Plastics, and increased the worth of its plastics business from £700m to £1.1bn.
In 2004, O-I sold some of its healthcare business to Graham Packaging in the US, and Van de Walle said the business "didn't grow" over the subsequent two years.
"From the numbers, they [analysts] were seeing volume decline and margin decline, but we saw that the underlying business was doing better," he said.
Rexam partially funded the acquisition with proceeds from the sale of its glass business to Ardagh Glass, which it completed in June 2007.
Rexam's global plastics business employs approximately 16,000 people across 65 plants, serving the healthcare, closures and personal care markets.
The company's plastics division increased sales by 24% to £880m in the year to 31 December 2007.
In an exclusive interview with Packaging News, Rexam chief executive Leslie Van de Walle said: "Obviously we have more [closures] coming because we do not need 30 plants in the US."
In December 2007, the company announced the closure of its plants in West Lafayette, Indiana, and Rossville, Georgia, which make medical diagnostic products and diagnostic healthcare packaging, respectively.
Van de Walle said that O-I Plastics brought economies of scale and growth potential to Rexam, particularly as it greatly increased the company's presence in the US.
The O-I Plastics business comprises 19 manufacturing sites, 14 of which are located in the US and Puerto Rico.
Van de Walle said he was pleased with the O-I Plastics acquisition, despite criticism from analysts at the time of purchase that Rexam paid too much for the company.
Rexam paid $1.86bn (£930m) in cash for O-I Plastics, and increased the worth of its plastics business from £700m to £1.1bn.
In 2004, O-I sold some of its healthcare business to Graham Packaging in the US, and Van de Walle said the business "didn't grow" over the subsequent two years.
"From the numbers, they [analysts] were seeing volume decline and margin decline, but we saw that the underlying business was doing better," he said.
Rexam partially funded the acquisition with proceeds from the sale of its glass business to Ardagh Glass, which it completed in June 2007.
Rexam's global plastics business employs approximately 16,000 people across 65 plants, serving the healthcare, closures and personal care markets.
The company's plastics division increased sales by 24% to £880m in the year to 31 December 2007.
Source: packagingnews
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