German recycling and environmental services provider Alba Group (Berlin; www.albagroup.de) has formed a joint venture with China’s Chengdu Techcent Environment (Techcent, Chengdu, Sichuan; www.tbhic.cn). Alba announced in March that it was seeking investors for its recycling activities in China as part of its "China Growth" strategy – see Plasteurope.com of 01.03.2016. The agreement has been signed between Alba and the Deng family – the majority shareholder in Techcent – and will become effective on 1 January 2017. Techcent will take a 60% share in the Berlin-based company’s China business and its Services segment.

The jv will comprise selected areas of Alba’s China business relating to high-end technology growth areas such as electronic waste and automotive recycling. It will also include the Services business, which consists of Alba’s Interseroh Dual System – a waste disposal contractor service. “As announced, we were able to identify a matching co-investor for our China business and our segment Services before the end of the year,” said Alba’s chairman, Axel Schweitzer, who added that as a listed but family-run company, Techcent was the perfect partner to powerfully promote the growth of both business lines. Schweitzer will act as chairman of the jv.

For Techcent, the deal represents a further significant step in its global business strategy, particularly after its acquisition of Bilfinger Water Technologies (Aarbergen / Germany; www.water.bilfinger.com) in March 2016. The Chinese firm paid around EUR 200m for Bilfinger, a leading provider of plants, components and services for water-treatment technologies.