Indorama Ventures acquires PET facilities in the US and Germany

Indorama Ventures is expanding its plastic manufacturing and recycling capabilities with the purchase of new facilities in the US and Germany.

In separate deals, Bangkok-headquartered Indorama has bought Invista Resins & Fibers’ PET manufacturing facility in Gersthofen, Germany, as well as a PET recycling facility from Custom Polymers PET in Alabama, US.

The Gersthofen site has a combined capacity of 282,000 tonnes per annum and employs approximately 140 people. As part of the deal, Indorama will own the intellectual property rights of Polyshield PET and Oxyclear Barrier PET, Invista’s barrier technology, in all markets globally.

Indorama Ventures (IVL) CEO Aloke Lohia said: “This is [a] very exciting development for IVL. With our strong foundation in the PET market and IVL’s geographic reach, we see vast opportunities to grow the Polyshield PET and Oxyclear Barrier PET brands to their full potential, and reach existing and new customers around the world.

“We are already capitalising on the opportunities in the US market, one of the largest barrier resins markets in the world.”

He added: “This strategic acquisition will evolve IVL to the next level of success by taking advantage of opportunities in global markets. With this acquisition, we reinforce our commitment to deliver the highest value to our customers and create sustainable long-term value for our shareholders.”

Meanwhile, the acquired Custom Polymers PET recycling site in Alabama consists of two production lines – recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) flake and food-grade rPET pellets – with a combined capacity of 31,000 tonnes per annum.

Indorama said the purchase will allow it to open up new opportunities to meet increasing food-grade rPET demand for more sustainable packaging solutions.

Commenting on the acquisition, Lohia said: “At Indorama Ventures, we intend to play a key role in promoting the circular economy and environmental sustainability by continuing to pursue the right opportunities to fill gaps that are intrinsic to our industry’s sustainable and profitable business.

“We strongly feel that this initiative will contribute as an attractive platform for strong future growth in our commitment to sustainable recycling business with the potential to expand further with the support of our stakeholders.”