PETpla.net Insider 05 / 2011

PET news 6 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 05/11 www.petpla.net Change of ownership for Husky Berkshire Partners LLC, the Boston based private equity firm, and Omers Private Equity Inc., the private equity arm of the Omers Worldwide group of compa- nies, have announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to jointly acquire Husky International Ltd. and its subsidiaries from Onex Corporation and its affiliated funds. John Galt will continue as Husky’s President and CEO. Berkshire Partners LLC and Omers Private Equity Inc. expect to complete the transaction by the end of the third quarter of 2011. The management team of Husky is expected to be a significant investor in the business through continued equity ownership. Berkshire Partners is a private equity firm based in Boston, Mass, USA. It has aggregate capital of $6.5 billion. Omers Private Equity, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, has over $5.5 billion of investments under management and manages the private equity activities of Omers, one of Canada’s largest pension funds with over $53 billion in net assets. Financing will be provided by certain affiliates of Gold- man, Sachs & Co., including its principal mezzanine fund; Morgan Stanley Senior Funding; RBC Capital Markets; and TD Securities Inc. TD Securities acted as financial advisor, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and McCarthy Tétrault LLP acted as legal counsel for the buyers. www.husky.ca www.berkshirepartners.com www.omerspe.com Uhde to build production plant in Turkey Uhde Inventa-Fischer has announced that it has been awarded a contract to build a PET production plant in Gaziantep, Turkey, for preform producer Koksan PET Packaging Industry Co. The plant will use Uhde Inventa-Fischer’s proprietary MTR technology to produce 216,000t/a of resin in various grades. The new plant will be built next to Koksan’s existing PET preform and bot- tling facilities in Gaziantep. Uhde Inventa-Fischer will pro- vide basic and detail engineering, supply of all major plant equipment, supervision of construction and commission- ing activities, as well as training of operating personnel. The MTR process is based on Uhde Inventa-Fischer’s Two-Reactor technology, which uses the patented Espree and Discage reactors to obtain required high-melt viscosi- ties. A further investment for a second, identical, line is anticipated in the near future. www.uhde-inventa-fisch er.com Thousands attend Sino-Pack / China Drinktec 2011 The 18th China International Exhibition on Packag- ing Machinery & Materials (Sino-Pack 2011) and The 15th China International Exhibition on Brewery, Beverage and Liquid Packaging (China Drinktec 2011) attracted 21,760 trade visitors from 80 countries. The event, which ran from March 9-11 2011 at the China Import & Export Fair Pazhou Complex (Area A), Guangzhou, PR China, is one of the leading packaging and beverage technology exhibitions in China. The organisers reported that the attendance was better than expected, with a higher number of trade and professional visitors than at the show’s previous edition. Visitors representing the food, beverage and household chemical industries came from China itself, elsewhere in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, as well as delegations from Russia, India, Vietnam and other coun- tries. A total of 390 exhibitors from more than 14 countries and regions had stands, including Bosch, KHS, KraussMaf- fei and Colormatrix from Europe, and Hongya, Mawell and Hong Bang from China. Chinese companies were particu- larly well represented, with strong delegations and visitor presence from the Pear River Delta industrial area. Trade associations from Korea, the UK, USA, Chinese Taipei and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) hosted their own pavilions. Around 20 symposiums were held during the exhibition, covering topics including Food Safety and the Development of Green Food Industry; Product Safety and the Development of Health Beverages; Low-Carbon Brewing Technology; Quality Control in the Pharmaceuti- cal Industry; Product Development and Application of New Materials in Health Products; and Equipment Maintenance and Quality Control. The Premium Packaging Showcase attracted participation from 100 high-end packaging prod- ucts enterprises from China, as well as leading designers who tpresented heir concepts on green packaging. Various ‘Business Matching’ activities brought buyers and exhibitors together and the organisers reported that over $20 million of business deals were discussed during the show. The exhibition was organised by Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd and the China Foreign Trade Centre (Group), supported by Guangdong Packaging Technology Association, Guangdong Provincial Pharmaceutical Management Board, Guangdong Brewing Information Technology Service Centre, ShenZhen Food Industry Association and Hong Kong Packaging Insti- tute. The next Sino-Pack /China Drinktec 2012 will be held from March 7-9, 2012 at China Import & Export Fair Pazhou Complex (Area A), Guangzhou, PR China. www.ChinaSinoPack.com www.ChinaDrinktec.com