Modern Plastics Worldwide - March 2010 - dae uptlax

FIRST LOOK
Daily news and features at plasticstoday.com/mpw
In Brief
The search goes on:
India vs. China
The chase for bankrupt plastics supply
major LyondellBasell continues. Indian
conglomerate Reliance has a bid in, as
previously reported, and at press time
financial news sources were naming China’s
Sinopec as another possible suitor.
NGF adds fi fth Varex
from W&H
Next Generation
Films (Lexington,
OH) has acquired
two blown film lines
in the past nine
months, including
its recent purchase
of a Varex coextru-
sion system, its
fifth, from Windmöller
& Hölscher.
Next Generation’s
new three-layer line
Honeywell signs on
CFP as European fi lm
distributor
Honeywell signed CFP Flexible Packaging
(Cesano Maderno, Italy) as its primary
distributor in Europe, the Middle East, and
Africa for its Capran-brand nylon films,
which are extruded at Honeywell’s Pottsville,
PA plant.
What you had to say
Earnings season gives way to
an M&A spring
Last year’s earnings
reports are in, so it’s a
good time to see how
companies met the Great
Recession challenge. For
some, the news wasn’t
that bad. Flexible packaging
processor Bemis
Co. (Neenah, WI) posted
solid earnings for 2009,
toward the top end of its
management’s forecast,
even though net sales
dropped 7% compared to 2008. Excluding
acquisition-related charges and
financing expenses, severance charges,
and a gain on the sale of an asset, diluted
earnings per share at Bemis would have
been $1.86 in 2009, besting the $1.61
per share earned in 2008. At press time,
Bemis was still working on its acquisition,
announced last summer, of Alcan
Packaging’s Food Americas division.
Extrusion blowmolder Graham Packaging
Co. (York, PA) and its owner,
private equity firm Blackstone Group
LP, moved forward with plans to take
the company public, with the initial
public offering (IPO) priced at $10/
share, lower than Blackstone had hoped.
At press time, the shares were above the
IPO level. Graham’s net sales were down
14% Q1-Q3 2009, compared to the same
period in 2008, but its net income for
“For unfilled resins and fairly new machines, once a year (for
automotive, during the December shutdowns) is fine. If you
guys are monitoring your injection process, then you should
see that it’s time to check them if your machine readouts,
scrap, and efficiency are out of control.”
Reader response to a forum question, “How often should we measure our screws and
barrels?” Get involved in the conversation at plasticstoday.com.
Graham Packaging’s IPO finally took
place. (Shown: CEO Mark Burgess.)
that time frame jumped
about 70%.
Meanwhile, the rumor
mill churned out a leak
that one of Bemis’s top
competitors, Nordenia
(Greven, Germany), may
be for sale. A report from
Reuters cited unidentified
sources as indicating that
Oaktree Capital Management
(Los Angeles, CA)
wants to sell the German
flexible films processor for some €600
million ($844 million). Both strategic
and equity/buyout firms were said to be
interested in Nordenia, said Reuters.
As M&A advisor Thomas Blaige
noted in our January issue’s As I See
It interview, the recession didn’t slow
M&As last year, and he expects strategic
deals to continue apace and financial
ones to increase in number in 2010. So
far, he seems to be quite prescient. Pretium
Packaging LLC and Novapak Corp.
recently announced their merger, creating
a $240 million business of blowmolded
bottle and injection molded preform
sales. Pretium, a custom blowmolder, is
partnering with New York-based buyout
firm Castle Harlan Inc. on the deal to
merge with PVC Container’s Novapak
business. The combined business retains
the Pretium Packaging name.
Polling news
The books are closed on 2009.
How did your business fare?
Business activity increased.
Business activity decreased.
Business activity stayed the same.
70%
6 MARCH 2010 • MODERN PLASTICS WORLDWIDE plasticstoday.com/mpw
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
25%
63%
13%