Indorama Ventures is to acquire Europe’s largest recycler of PET bottles.
The Thai company has agreed to buy Wellman International’s recycling business from WIT Beteiligungs and Wellman International Trading, which are affiliates of Aurelius.
Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction will be completed this year, and will mean that Indorama Ventures will buy three production facilities in Europe. These are a polyester fibre plant based in Mullagh, Ireland with an output of more than 80,000 tonnes, and recycling plants in the Netherlands and France with an output of 45,000 tonnes and 28,000 tonnes respectively.
The plant in Ireland is capable of converting waste polyester into 100 per cent recycled fibre. Post-consumer recycled bottles are flaked and processed with other waste material to produce fibres that can be used in the hygiene industry and other sectors.
In a statement, Indorama Ventures company secretary Souvik Roy Chowdhury said: “The target acquisition has the know-how to blend recycled PET (rPET) and industrial waste and will potentially contribute to make Indorama Ventures a zero waste company with a low carbon footprint.
“The acquisition will be in line with customers’ sustainability drive and to meet their demands for more recycling of post consumer products. This project acquisition will also provide access to proven recycling technology and the potential for a technology transfer to the company’s Asian assets with a reduced learning curve.”
The value of the transaction has not been revealed. Indorama Ventures is the largest producer of PET in the world, the largest polyester fibre producer in Thailand and also a major manufacturer of wool yarns.
