PETpla.net Insider 11 / 2018

10 NEWS PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 11/18 www.petpla.net Cott announces acquisition of Mountain Valley Spring Company Cott Corporation announced that DS Services, a Cott Corporation subsidiary, acquired The Mountain Valley Spring Company for $78.5 million in cash from Great Range Capital. Mountain Valley is a fast-growing American brand of spring and sparkling water and a recognized home and office distribution brands in the United States. It has been bottling continuously since 1871, with one production facility in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and four protected and owned springs in the Ouachita Mountains with excess capacity to supply long-term demand. Channels of business include HOD, the natural food channel, on-premise, E-commerce and strategic contract packing. Mountain Valley focuses on spring water bottled in a variety of glass bottle sizes ranging from five-gallon bottles to single serve sizes such as 1 l, 500ml and 333ml. Over the years Mountain Valley has added sparkling and flavored sparkling water in glass bottles as well as PET offerings for its spar- kling and spring water lines. Mountain Valley is positioned as the premium American water brand and is a leader in the high growth premium bottled water branded category as well as the sparkling and flavoured water categories. Mountain Valley has grown revenue from approximately $ 39 million in 2015 to over $ 50 million in estimated sales for 2018, with high single digit growth expectations for 2019. The purchase price was $78.5 million, on a debt and cash free basis, representing approximately 8x estimated year 2 post-synergy adjusted EBITDA. Cott financed the transaction through a combination of cash on hand and drawing on its asset based lending facility. The transaction closed on Octo- ber 15, 2018. Additional financial and integration information relating to the acquisition of Mountain Valley will be provided during Cott’s third quarter earnings release conference call scheduled for November 8, 2018. www.cott.com Chinaplas 2019 will highlight Circular Economy After “Industry 4.0” “Circular Economy” will be the next megatrend highlighted at Chinaplas. This has been announced by the organisers Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd. “We’ve been aware of the concept of the circular economy for some time. As early as 2011, we launched the ‘Bioplastics Zone’, introducing biodegradable plastics and bio-based plastics. We have also set up a ‘Recycling Technology Zone’ since 2016 in Shanghai. The show line-up continues to grow. In the upcoming Chinaplas, the circular economy will be pro- moted to a prime position, leading exhibitors and visitors to explore the enormous potential.” says Ada Leung, General Manager of Adsale Exhibition Services. The core of circular economy is the efficient use and recycling of resources, and plastic waste recycling is an indispensable part. It is predicted that by 2025, China, one of the world’s largest waste plastics recycling countries, will produce urban solid waste amounting to nearly a quarter of the world’s total. In addition to circular economy, new market trends and demands, new business opportunities, changes in the world economic situation, opportunities and challenges for plastics innovations resulting from Sino-US trade debate will be in the focus of the show. A ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ has there- fore been launched, in the course of which staff will be sent overseas to invite local associations and enterprises to visit Chinaplas. The aim is to help exhibitors explore new business opportunities so as to increase return on their investment. Chinaplas 2019 will be returning to the China Import and Export Complex, Pazhou, Guangzhou and run from May 21- 24, 2019. An estimated total of more than 3,400 industrial leaders from around the world will be showcas- ing their products and solutions in more than 250,000m 2 of exhibition space to at least 180,000 professional visitors from 150 countries and regions. www.chinaplasonline.com Illig expands production capacity outside Germany Illig, a German machinery manufacturerwill build a new production site in Romania. During the next few years Illig Maschinenbau SRL will develop into a further production site outside Germany located in Sura Mica industrial park in the Sibiu region. „At the new site Illig will be manufacturing thermoform- ing lines from its product range to ensure increasing market demands can be met“, Dr Heinrich Sielemann, Illig managing director, substantiates the expansion. In 2019, the first office buildings and production halls will be constructed in a first con- struction phase on a surface of 60,000 square meters. On-site personnel recruitment was started with the intent to prepare the new staff members at the Heilbronn central site for their new tasks. Moreover, Illig intends to sustainably become involved in the training of qualified staff on site. The existing Romanian dual vocational training system and a cooperation with the Sibiu University are suitable options to achieve this goal. During the last few years the Sibiu region developed into one of the fastest growing economic centers of Romania. Many German and Austrian companies have settled in Sibiu, the former Hermannstadt. The city has a population of around 150,000 inhabitants and it is optimally linked to the most important long- distance connections by road, railroad and air. www.illig.de/en