Private equity company 3i Group (London / UK; www.3i.com) has acquired a majority stake in Mepal (Lochem / The Netherlands, www.mepal.com) from the previous owner and managing director of the Dutch firm, Rutger de Korte. Plasteurope.com was told that the transaction is subject to the usual approvals by competition authorities, but was not provided any details about the size of the investment.

In 2020, plastics processor Mepal posted sales of over EUR 50m, with around 150 employees. Apart from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polypropylene, the converter also processes PCT and thermoplastic elastomers into products for storing and serving food and drinks. Mepal does not manufacture the plastics itself, but assembles and stores the individual components produced by its suppliers. As recently as September 2021, building measures at the Dutch location of Lochem were completed, which enabled the assembly and storage capacity to be doubled, to more than 15,000 m².

Mepal has grown significantly in the past few years, said CEO de Korte, leading to a doubling of sales volume and considerable growth in turnover. The main contributing factors, he said, were the company’s stronger position on the German market and an increase in its online activities – the products are marketed both through its own shop and external e-commerce partners.

In addition to Germany, the Benelux countries are among Mepal’s main customer markets. The company also has a sales office in Meschede / Germany. The aim of 3i, according to Pieter de Jong, co-head of private equity, is to achieve further growth in these countries and to gain entry into new markets in Europe in addition to expanding its online business.

The private equity company had acquired a majority stake in plastics packaging producer Weener Plastic Packaging Group (Weener / Germany; www.wppg.de) in 2015 (see Plasteurope.com of 08.10.2015).