In a move long expected, Israeli manufacturer of plastic household goods Keter Plastics (IL-46766 Herzliya; www.keter.co.il) acquired French sanitary products manufacturer Allibert Group (F-38240 Voreppe; www.allibert.fr) in December 2003 for USD 20m. – See PIE 17, 2003. Keter also agreed to assume Allibert´s debt of around USD 50m. The Israeli group now claims to be Europe´s leading manufacturers of plastic household goods, with sales of USD 600m. Worldwide, the company, which specialises in garden furniture, is believed to be in third place.

With annual sales of some USD 130m, Allibert employs 800 people at five production sites in France and one in Belgium. The company also has distribution units in Belgium, the UK, The Netherlands and Spain. Its former German subsidiary filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2002.

Up to now, Keter, which employs 2,500 people worldwide, including 1,700 in Israel, has operated 18 plants, including 12 in Israel and three in the US. It has offices or representatives in more than 56 countries. European production facilities are at Keter (UK) Ltd (GB-Birmingham, B32 3DB; www.outstanding-keter.com), Jardin Netherlands BV (NL-5120 Rijen; www.jardin.nl) and EOS Industrieplast ApS (DK-4250 Fuglebjerg). With the Allibert takeover, Keter will be able to export to countries with which Israel does not have direct commercial ties, said CEO Sami Sagol.