With its 12th acquisition in Europe in five years, US-based Berlin Packaging (Chicago, Illinois; www.berlinpackaging.com) has continued its expansion strategy. The most recent acquisition of the company – which has its European headquarters in Milan / Italy – is British packaging manufacturer Roma International (Hadleigh; www.roma.co.uk). The takeover target specialises in cosmetic and personal care packaging made of glass and plastics to include closures, pumps and dispensing. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

“The acquisition of Roma International will enable Berlin Packaging to further extend its range of packaging in the cosmetics and personal care sectors,” said Paolo Recrosio, European CEO of Berlin Packaging. At the beginning of 2021, the US firm strengthened its plastics division in Southern Europe with the purchase of Spain’s Repli (Barcelona; www.repli.es) and Italy’s Pentapackaging (Bergamo; www.pentapackaging.it – see Plasteurope.com of 13.01.2021) to support its goal of being able to offer packaging solutions in all market segments across the whole of Europe.

Bill Hayes, CEO and president of Berlin Packaging, said, “Targeted acquisitions, like Roma International, ultimately help us to grow faster organically in Europe.” With the latest acquisitions, Berlin Packaging has 39 production facilities around the world.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the European unit is said to have benefited from, among other things, increased demand for food and hygiene products in the past year. “The European division will close 2020 with sales of EUR 500m,” a company spokesperson told Plasteurope.com. The company said its target is to achieve “sales of over USD 1 bn” (EUR 814m) in Europe by 2023. The group’s total revenue in 2019 was around USD 1.7 bn.