Alcan Packaging Services (CH-8212 Neuhausen; www.alcanpackaging.com), the plastic packaging division of US aluminium giant Alcan Aluminium Ltd. (Montreal, Quebec / Canada; www.alcan.com), intends to sell all four plants of the Fibrenyle group (GB-Beccles; www.fibrenyle.co.uk). The company says it is currently negotiating with Polimoon (N-0125 Oslo; www.polimoon.com). A deal would bring the Norwegian packaging group a little closer to its declared objective of strengthening its market position in northern Europe, as stated by CEO Arne Vraalsen last year.

Fibrenyle is active in the fields of blow moulding and injection moulding and manufactures above all bottles, canisters and closures for liquid detergents, bodycare products and beverages. With its 640 employees in Beccles, Thetford, Sutton and Norwich, the group recently posted sales equivalent to around EUR 300m.

It is unclear whether the sale is connected with the fact that big customers such as the British beverages manufacturer, BritVic Soft Drinks, have recently gone over to installing their own blow moulding production facilities. Fibrenyle had invested some GBP 2m (about EUR 2.9m) in new machines and tools especially for this contract. Alcan spokesman, John Gardner, said the reason for the sale was that the production sites did not fit in with the strategic alignment of the division. Alcan had, however, ensured that the potential buyer would continue the businesses, and Polimoon is said to have given an assurance that there will be no redundancies.

Polimoon, formerly Dynoplast, employs 1,800 people worldwide and had sales in 2002 of EUR 215m. In July 2002, the Norwegians took over two Danish subsidiaries of the British packaging Group, Rexam plc (GB-London SW1P 3XR; www.rexam.co.uk) (see PIE 17, 2002). Both of them also produce consumer packaging, among other things for beverages and dressings.