RPC (Rushden / UK; www.rpc-group.com) in early September officially inaugurated the 11,000 m² expansion at its Bramlage-Wiko subsidiary in Morgantown, Pennsylvania / USA. The rigid plastic packaging supplier invested more than USD 10m in the upgrade, which will allow it to engage in in-mould labelling at the site. The total workforce in Morgantown, which is specialised in injection moulding and thermoforming packaging for the beverage, food and cosmetics markets, now stands at about 120.

The UK-headquartered company said the decision to invest in the site is part of its strategy to further develop its operations outside of Europe, where it recently announced the divestiture of its two Cobelplast plants in Belgium and Italy – see Plasteurope.com of 16.09.2014. RPC added that it also plans to develop its other US activities, including its M&H Plastics manufacturing plant in Winchester, Virginia, as well as its RPC Superfos sales office in Cumberland, Maryland.

Commenting on the investment, group CEO Pim Vervaat said, “A key focus of our Vision 2020 strategy is to achieve a meaningful presence outside Europe, and supporting and further developing our North American operations is an important part of this.” RPC in 2013 defined the entry into emerging markets as a key objective (see Plasteurope.com of 23.04.2013) and earlier this year acquired Chinese injection moulding company ACE Corp Holdings (Hong Kong; www.acemold.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 06.05.2014.