Austria´s biggest plastic film producer Unterland Flexible Packaging AG (HQ: A-6330 Kufstein; www.unterland.at) has new owners. Seven leading Unterland managers acquired the 74% shareholding of previous majority shareholder, Hungarian petrochemical group Tiszai Vegyi Kombinát Tr. (TVK, H-3581 Tiszaujváros; www.tvk.hu). Unterland CEO, Wolfgang Schauer, now has the majority shareholding of 34%. Other MBO members with a holding of 6.66% each are Johann Bolom (Head of Technology & Development), Manfred Ellmerer (Product Management Standard Products), Reinhard Marth (Operating Manager), Andrea Prosser (Head of Purchasing), Ewald Steiner (Product Manager Special Products) and Margreth Tusch (Division Head Special Products). Richard Labek, son of company founder, Dr. Alfred Labek, has retained his 26% share.

The new ownership situation at Unterland needs to be viewed against the background that TVK announced a year ago already that it was intending to part with all its shareholdings in the plastics-processing industry (see Plasteurope.com 06, 2000). Apart from in Austria, TVK has film and packaging plants in Romania and Hungary. Overall sales totalled EUR 170m in 1999. Sales at Unterland were reported to be around EUR 117m at a press conference at the start of March. The company has a payroll of 420.