Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global chemical producer, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Sorepla Industrie S.A., a plastics recycling facility in France. Founded in 1991, Sorepla Industrie is one of the largest recyclers in Europe. The facility consists of three production lines; Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (rPET), Recycled High Density Polyethylene (rHDPE) and food-grade Pellets, with a combined capacity of 52,000 tonnes/annum. Regardless of the fluctuations in the quality of post-consumer feedstock, Sorepla can offer consistently high quality recycled PET material that meet customers’ specific needs in Packaging and Fibers. The company employs a total of 58 employees.
This acquisition is strategically in line with the Company’s objectives of long-term sustainability. The addition of Sorepla will further solidify IVL’s position as one of the leaders in recycling in Europe and opens up new opportunities to serve increasing demand for food grade rPET. While IVL has a significant recycling presence in France through its subsidiary, Wellman France Recyclage in Verdun, the acquisition of Sorepla gives the Company additional capabilities to deliver food grade rPET to serve increasing demand among major brand owners for more sustainable packaging solutions. Due to Sorepla’s proximity to our existing recycling business, synergies of management and supply chain are expected to benefit IVL businesses.
rPET resin is widely used for food and beverage packaging as well as fiber applications in Europe, a sector in which IVL holds a leadership supplier position. The demand for food-grade rPET in Western Europe is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7% from 2018-2021, and is currently outstripping supply. A growing emphasis on sustainability and circular economy objectives among packaging and consumer product manufacturers is expected to be amongst the key factors driving market growth. Recycled PET is well-known to be hygienic and is approved for food-contact applications in most countries around the world.
Commenting on the acquisition, Mr. Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of Indorama Ventures said, “Indorama Ventures plays a key role in promoting the circular economy and environmental sustainability globally. We believe that the recycling of PET packaging is one of the most responsible solutions for the preservation of resources and the reduction of PET containers in landfills. Indorama Ventures is playing its part and investing in recycling solutions globally.
With a comprehensive European network for bottle sourcing and good supply chain efficiencies, we feel that this acquisition will contribute as an attractive platform for strong future growth in the sustainable recycling business with the potential to expand globally."
