Plastic packaging maker Alpla (Hard / Austria; www.alpla.com) has announced plans to start-up its Asia-Pacific (APAC) head office in Singapore on 1 January 2022, adding that it is creating a new region for its operations by merging activities in Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, which will include the current business in China, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Related: Alpla plans to spend EUR 250m on recycling operations

The APAC region will be managed by Roland Wallner, the current managing director of Northeast Asia. With 2,750 employees, APAC’s focus is to be on further development of circular economy activities in the region.

Wallner said, “With this step we are bundling our extensive competences and resources in different markets of the region and aligning them in terms of strategic development, customer service, sales, and purchasing.” The Austrian manufacturer also recently announced plans to start up a recycling plant in Mexico (see Plasteurope.com of 17.11.2021).

The Austrian company, which achieved a turnover of EUR 3.7 bn in 2020, also recently provided an update on its activities from 2018 to 2020 in its fourth sustainability report. Circular economy is an important part of the sustainability strategy, the group announced. Alpla operates its own recycling plants for PET and HDPE in Austria, Poland, Mexico, Italy and Spain, as well as joint ventures in Mexico and Germany.