Austria’s Alpla Group has announced the acquisition of Verigreen Packaging, the lubricants division of packaging manufacturer headquartered in Durban, South Africa, specialised in the production of bottles and canisters for lubricants such as engine oils. Founded in 2016, the company today has a workforce of 25 at its site in Durban.
Its parent company, Verigreen, is a supplier of high-quality branded and private label products such as indoor and outdoor refuse bags, cling wrap, freezer bags and sandwich bags for the household and foodservice sectors.
The oils and lubricants market is one in which Alpla Group has long been active at locations outside of Africa. The company has developed packaging targeted at this sector featuring details such as viewing windows to show the fill level and secure closures to prevent product counterfeiting. This type of packaging also needs to be impermeable.
“This acquisition is the perfect fit for our strategy,” said Mike Resnicek, managing director of Sub-Saharan Africa at Alpla. “It offers us an inroad into a market segment in which we have not been present in southern Africa until now, as well as generating synergies for our existing customers and giving us opportunities to further diversify our portfolio.”
With the acquisition, Alpla aims to further expand its presence in the region. In 2017, it acquired Boxmore Packaging, the African market leader in the manufacture of PET bottles, PET preforms and caps. A modern production facility together with a regional head office is currently under construction in Lanseria near Johannesburg. There is another production facility near Cape Town.
The two companies have agreed not to disclose any details regarding the deal.