South African packaging giant Nampak Ltd. (Sandton, 2146 South Africa; www.nampak.com) is concentrating all of its EUR 200m European blow moulding business in a new company to be called Nampak Plastics Europe (GB-Woburn Sands, Milton Keynes; www.eu.nampak.com). An unquantified number of administrative jobs will be lost, but new chief executive John Monks said “this is essential to reduce costs and eliminate the overlap and duplication of the past.” Under the previous set-up, assets of the original Nampak European companies BlowMocan (GB-Milton Keynes) and Plysu (GB-Woburn Sands) were managed from the UK, through Nampak PLC.

The reorganisation will join Nampak´s plastics operations in the UK, Holland, Belgium and France under one centralised management. Across Europe, group divisions are being merged, whereby previous divisional names Liquid Foods, Containers UK, Containers Europe and Personal Care will disappear. In other moves, subsidiary Plysu Protection Systems (PPS, GB-Woburn Sands; www.plysuprotectionsystems.com) has been sold to management and the Spanish PET business, with its six production sites and GBP 10m in annual sales, sold to minority shareholders. In the UK, a smaller site at Leicester is to close and production shifted to other locations. Part of the Plysu main site at Woburn Sands also is being shut down.

Under newly appointed managing director Robin Moore and deputy James Crick, who also will have responsibility sales and marketing, the group said Nampak Plastics Europe will continue to focus and develop its core markets of food and drink, automotive, agrochemical, health and beauty and general chemicals.