In a move designed to be a springboard for plastic bottle supply in the UK, Elopak Plastic Systems (EPS,PO Box 124, N-3431 Spikkestad; www.elopak.com) has acquired a 49% stake in Auspac, a privately owned moulding company formed in 1996 for production of HDPE milk bottles and related injection moulded caps. The deal is part of a five-year strategy for Elopak to become one of the top five plastic packaging suppliers in the UK dairy sector, the leading European market in terms of volume, speed of delivery and packaging performance. EPS executive vice president, Jorg Thiels said: “Auspac offers a combination of local commercial experience and high quality existing operations, together with technical knowhow.”

Auspac (1 Eastern Road, Bracknell, GB-Berks RG12 2UP) currently runs four blow moulding lines and four cap-making machines, giving it a capacity for 140 million bottles and 150 million caps a year, with scope for expansion. It supplies small and medium-sized dairies, who are able to get all their supplies from one source. The acquisition complements the moves Elopak has made at the larger end of the UK marketplace, such as at Lancashire Dairies, where it has a full extrusion blow moulding, hole-in-the-wall facility. According to Kim Potter, EP director Plastic Bottle Systems: “EPS can now anticipate every variation of polybottle supply for the UK and offer a one-stop shop for all of our customers´ requirements.”