By Plasteurope.com staff

Italian financial media are reporting that film specialist Plastchim-T (Tervel, Bulgaria; www.plastchim-t.com) has wholly acquired Italian competitor Manucor (Milan; www.manucor.com).

The Bulgarian firm is said to have taken over not only the 95% held by investor Pillarstone and bank consortium Loren SVP following the withdrawal of Sibur, but also the remaining 5% from Manucor CEO Luigi Scagliotti and supervisory board chairman Matteo Rossini. Neither Manucor nor Plastchim-T initially responded to Plasteurope.com enquiries regarding the acquisition. 

The transaction would result in a company with a capacity of significantly more than 200,000 t/y for what is primarily biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP).

Related: Recyclate use cuts carbon emissions in BOPP film production – Brückner study

The latest figures show that the 260 employees at Manucor – formerly Manuli Film – with its plant near Naples generated sales of around EUR 150 mn. Over the past four years, EBITDA has averaged at EUR 10 mn.

Depending on the source, film capacity is between 80,000 t/y and 100,000 t/y. The film is processed into food packaging and self-adhesive films and labels.

Plastchim-T operates three plants in Bulgaria (Aksakovo, Devnya, and Tervel) with film capacities estimated at a good 150,000 t/y. These divide up over 115,000 t/y BOPP film, 12,000 t/y cast PP film (CPP), and 2,500 t/y polyethylene film.

In 2021, the company added a Brückner hybrid BOPP/BOPE system with a capacity of 26,000 t/y, although it is not clear whether this replaced older systems. The company’s 1,000 or so employees work in the two divisions of Packaging Films and Flexible Packages.

— Translated by Plasteurope.com correspondent