There appears to be significant movement in the worldwide shipping container and material handling market. In line with plans announced in January 2007 to concentrate on North America, Myers Industries (Akron, Ohio / USA; www.myersind.com) has sold its European material handling business to Linpac Materials Handling (LMH, Birmingham / UK; www.lmhglobal.com) for USD 96.4m. The UK group, with sales of nearly EUR 1.5 bn and a worldwide workforce of around 9,000, will now intensify its activities in Europe.

The European material handling unit being sold by Myers focuses on returnable containers and pallets and plastic storage systems marketed under the brand names "Allibert Buckhorn" and "raaco". The activities produced sales of USD 167m in 2005 and a pretax profit of USD 8.3m. There are no plans for cutting the current workforce as the business changes hands. Following the merger, Linpac says it will have a leadership position in the market for material handling and services.

LMH and Allibert Buckhorn (Nanterre / France; www.allibert-buckhorn.com) initially will continue to trade as two separate companies; however, the process of integration already has begun. Headquarters of the combined operation will be at the Allibert Buckhorn site in Nanterre. The divestiture allows Myers to focus on the core business and increase investment in its North American material handling, lawn and garden products, distribution, automotive and custom segments, said president and CEO John C. Orr.

As a logical extension of its new strategy, Myers also has announced plans to acquire Schoeller Arca Systems North America (Detroit, Michigan / USA) for an undisclosed sum. The US company is a subsidiary of Schoeller Arca Systems NV (Vilsteren / The Netherlands; www.schoellerarcasystems.com), the world market leader in plastic packaging systems. It specialises in returnable containers and similar material handling products. Preliminary figures show turnover of around USD 50m in these product lines 2006. The "Xytec" and "Combo" brands will be integrated into Myers´ North American business under the Buckhorn brand.

Myers Industries reported turnover of USD 780m in 2006, up from USD 736m in 2005. Last year, it employed around 5,000 people at 29 production sites in three countries. The North American material handling business increased sales by 4% to USD 197m, accounting for nearly 25% of total turnover.