Germany’s Deutsche Unternehmensbeteiligungen (Dubag, Munich; www.dubag.eu) early this year acquired the Thermoplastic Sheet business division of British Vita Group (Manchester / UK; www.britishvita.com). The Vitasheet Group (Jülich-Kirchberg / Germany; www.vitasheetgroup.com) – which manufactures PE, PP, PS and ABS sheet as well as rigid film for thermoforming applications – became part of Dubag Plastics Holding, a subsidiary especially founded for the transaction.

Vitasheet felt the twin pressures of declining demand and European overcapacities in 2013, with volumes falling 3% year-on-year. The future of the group’s plants and its employees remains unclear, with Dubag unwilling to comment on a relevant Plasteurope.com query. Vitasheet is comprised of Metzeler Plastics (Jülich-Kirchberg / Germany; www.metzelerplastics.de), Iroplastics (Ampflwang / Austria), as well as the three French companies Carolex Graphic Arts, Carolex and Gaillon. Additional members include Royalite Plastics (Italy), Esbjerg Thermoplast (Denmark) and VTS Royalite (UK).

Following financial difficulties, British Vita in 2005 was acquired by US investor Texas Pacific Group (TPG, Fort Worth / Texas; www.tpg.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 07.04.2005. The UK company early this year also divested its Liquid Compounding business, and now deals in PU foams only.