RPC bpi group has acquired UK-based rigid plastics recycler PLASgran Ltd, marking a major consolidation in the fragmented recycling industry in the UK.
The takeover agreement was signed 13 Aug, said RPC bpi in a 21 Aug statement, but did not provide further financial information on the deal.
Based in Wimblington, Cambridgeshire and established in 1999, PLASgran has a recycling capacity of 50 ktpa plastic wastes from post-industrial and post-consumer sources.
The company's portfolio includes a wide range of compounded, cleaned and sorted regrind recycled materials. It also offers a range of waste management solutions to converters and other businesses to recycle and dispose of their redundant plastics.
The acquisition is a turning point for RPC bpi Recycled Products, which has committed to work towards “a world where nothing goes to waste.”
Based in Greenock, Scotland, RPC bpi is one of the largest European manufacturers of polythene blown films products.
The company, which was formed following the 2016 acquisition of recycler BPI by the RPC group, has recycling facilities in Dumfries, Derbyshire, Gwent and Stroud in the UK where it recycles polythene from commercial, industrial, packaging and agricultural sources.
Post-acquisition, and with an aggregate 120ktpa of recycling capacity, RPC bpi claims to be the largest plastics recycler in the UK and one of the largest in Europe.
“We are now in a unique new position to help the UK step up its efforts to meet ever more pressing sustainability goals and to help the environment,” said Gerry McGarry, managing director of RPC bpi Recycled Products commenting on the merger.
The takeover has come at a time when there is increased demand for recycled products in Europe both for environmental and commercial reasons.
“Many major brands and retailers, for example, are quite rightly demanding their packaging is produced and manufactured from genuine recycled used plastics. With our technology, expertise and newly enlarged business, we can offer our customers a true ‘closed loop' solution for the supply and recycling of their packaging,” he noted.
Mark Roberts managing director at PLASgran will continue to run the business and will join the executive team at RPC bpi Recycled Products business unit.