The plastics business of French packaging group Ileos (Paris; www.ileos.com) – Axilone Plastique – is investing EUR 3m in expanding its plant in Guidel / France. The site will receive an additional 2,000 m² in production space on top of the existing 5,000 m². The added room will house a new paint line as well as a clean room for the metallisation of the injection moulded cosmetic closures. The expansion means Axilone will no longer have to source these services from subcontractors. The investment will create about 20 new jobs, raising the workforce in Guidel to about 100.

Axilone produces premium perfume bottle closures made of mostly engineering thermoplastics like PMMA at the site as well as at its nearby plant in Auray. The two facilities also produce make-up containers. Key customers include famous cosmetic goods producers like Armani, Dior and Givenchy.

The group’s plastic business accounts for about one third of revenues – which last stood at EUR 114m. The remainder is generated by metal packaging, produced among others by Axilone Metal in Barcelona / Spain. The French company operates about 120 injection moulding machines at its two plastic processing sites.

Aside from Axilone, the Ileos group, the majority share of which is owned by Oaktree Capital, also comprises Socoplan (producing film and laminate packaging for cosmetic samples) as well as carton manufacturers Alliora and Packetis.