Ardagh Glass Finance plc - Irish Stock Exchange

Glass Holdings Limited of the share capital of various wholly owned subsidiaries of Rexam plc, which
operated the glass container manufacturing division of Rexam plc. The Rexam Acquisition was
consummated on June 21, 2007 and the acquired business has now been fully integrated into our
business.
The Rexam Acquisition had a material effect on our business, approximately doubling Ardagh’s
size based on sales volume and resulting in a significant expansion of its operations in Germany and
Poland and entry into new markets in the Nordic and Benelux regions. The primary focus of Ardagh’s
management following the acquisition of the glass division of Rexam plc has been to successfully
integrate the acquired business with the pre-existing Ardagh operations and to realize the anticipated
synergies quickly and efficiently. During 2008, this process was successfully completed. Ardagh now
operates as an integrated business with a unified management team focused on profitably serving its
customers’ needs on a regional and multinational basis.
Competitive Strengths
We believe Ardagh has a number of competitive strengths that differentiate it from its competitors,
including:
• Leading Market Position in Its Principal Market—Northern Europe. We believe Ardagh is one of
the leading suppliers of glass containers in Northern Europe with strong market positions in the
food, beer, spirits, wine, non-alcoholic beverages and pharmaceutical sectors. We believe Ardagh
is one of the market leaders in Germany, the U.K. and the Nordic region, with strong market
positions in the food, beer and spirits sectors. Ardagh has achieved this by pursuing strategic
opportunities, such as the expansion of operations through the Rexam Acquisition, while
maintaining profitability, rather than pursuing market share gains at the expense of operating
margins. Ardagh’s leading Northern European market position provides it with significant
economies of scale. Furthermore, the cash flow generated from its operations allows for ongoing
reinvestment in its business.
• Customer Relationships. Ardagh has strong and long-standing relationships with its customers
which include some of the leading European and global food and beverage manufacturers such
as AB InBev, Bacardi, Carlsberg, Coca-Cola Schweppes Beverages, Diageo, Heineken, Kraft,
MEK, Nestlé, Pernod Ricard, Premier Foods, SABMiller and Vin & Sprit. The average tenure of
Ardagh’s relationships with its top five customers is more than nine years, and for certain
customers, such as Vin & Sprit, the relationship dates back several decades. Ardagh also has
very strong relationships with a number of regional leaders such as DEK, Dutch Glory/Hak,
Gobber, Maspex, Orkla, Royal Unibrew and Stute. Ardagh’s customers rely heavily on
manufacturers to provide quality products on time and in specified quantities, as failure to do so
would disrupt their production lines and may have a significant adverse impact on their business.
As a result, Ardagh’s customers typically undertake a rigorous selection process prior to
choosing a manufacturer. We believe that Ardagh’s customers identify Ardagh as being reliable
and capable of delivering high quality, technologically advanced products, which is a key
purchasing consideration.
• Technical Leadership and Innovation. Ardagh has superior technology and manufacturing
capabilities including a high standard of product and process development and extensive
knowledge of the industry which is supported through its division Ardagh Glass Engineering.
Ardagh continually seeks to improve the quality of its products and processes through focused
investment in new technology and has achieved industry leading accreditations. Through its
design capabilities, range of machine configurations and high degree of flexibility, they are able
to meet the diverse design needs of customers and to face ongoing industry challenges. Ardagh
63