Italian packaging machinery producer Marchesini (Pianoro / Italy; www.marchesini.com) said sales last year rose 7% to EUR 292m, with nearly four-fifths from products exported to Europe and the US including the packaging line for diabetes patches made by US healthcare company Abbott Laboratories (Illinois / USA; www.abbott.com).

Chairman Maurizio Marchesini said the recent appointment of ex-Sacmi head Pietro Cassani as CEO (see Plasteurope.com of 03.01.2017) would help meet the goals of widening the company's footprint outside of Italy and "reaching new targets of expansion, also through take-overs". Cassani said the company aims to breach the EUR 300m sales level in 2017 by deepening its position in pharmaceuticals segment and branching out even further into the cosmetics sector, particularly in countries with growing entrance barriers, such as the US, Asia and Europe. He said the European cosmetics sector should grow "firmly" over the next three years.