An Phat Plastic & Green Environment JSC, a member of An Phat Holdings, has signed a contract to supply thin film packaging worth VND1.4 trillion (US$60 million) to a Japanese partner.

RPC Group plc ended merger talks with Bain Capital and gave Apollo Global Management more time to make a firm takeover offer for the European plastics packager.

An Phat Plastic & Green Environment JSC signed a contract to supply thin film packaging worth VND 1.4 trillion (US$60 million) to an unnamed Japanese partner.

Bimec sold slitter rewinders to Huhtamaki for its new plant in the Cairo area, Egypt, which opened in late 2018. The machines are designed for flexible packaging production.

International Paper is developing a 159,486 square foot expansion of its Waxahachie plant to make finished corrugated boxes for the local market, according to a letter to the city.

Stora Enso will invest EUR 22 million (SEK 232 million) to expand the water treatment plant at its Skoghall Mill in Sweden, adding capacity and new technology to reduce environmental impact.

Dunapack Packaging agreed with Electronics For Imaging to implement the EFI Escada Profile closed-loop process control system at Dunapack Packaging to enhance quality and efficiency in corrugated packaging production.

Avery Dennison entered a partnership with SMAG Graphique to introduce RFID conversion solutions for label conversion companies, with training provided at SMAG's showroom in France.

Nine agricultural processing and food business companies in Ireland formed a partnership called Plastic Action Alliance to implement sustainable plastic packaging solutions.

Angolan brewer Sodiba, with Embalvidro and Industrial Africa Development, plans to invest EUR 100 million in a glass packaging factory in Luanda, with 51% held by Sodiba and 49% by IAD, creating 188 direct jobs.

Subsidiaries of Suzhou Hycan Holdings won five-year contracts to supply plastic lubricant bottles to ExxonMobil's lube blending plants in Taicang, Jiangsu and Tianjin, China.

Wuxi Xianyou Packaging Materials won the tender for aluminium foil boxes for Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport Lufthansa Catering, as announced on the airport's website on 30 November 2018.

Oak Hill Capital Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board signed a definitive recapitalization agreement for Berlin Packaging, with CPPIB investing US$500 million. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2018, and Berlin Packaging has about US$1.4 billion in annual sales.

JBB Packaging will open a plastic film manufacturing facility in Weldon, Halifax County, North Carolina, investing $11 million and creating 50 jobs. The facility will recycle plastics and produce flexible packaging and garment bags.

Orora Limited acquired Pollock Packaging, a Texas-based packaging and facility supplies business with distribution centres in several US states, for US$80.5 million (about AUD$110 million). The deal was announced on 29 November 2018.

Ringmetall AG agreed to acquire Nittel Halle GmbH, a manufacturer of round bottom bags and form inliners based in Halle an der Saale, Germany, with annual sales of €13 million and 140 employees. The acquisition is planned for January 1, 2019.

American Containers in Plymouth, Indiana, announced its third expansion in four years, investing nearly $1.2 million in new equipment and an automated assembly process for corrugated honeycomb products. The expansion is backed by a seven-year property tax abatement approved by the Plymouth Common Council.

Smurfit Kappa invested R$24 million in its Uberaba plant in Minas Gerais, Brazil, boosting production by 30% through upgraded conversion equipment. The company plans a more aggressive investment programme in 2019.

Cascades Inc. is investing US$58 million to modernize and add tissue converting equipment at its Wagram, North Carolina plant. The project includes five new converting lines and modernization of four existing lines, adding 66 full-time jobs and increasing converting capacity from 5.3 million to nearly 15 million cases per year.

PPC Flexible Packaging has acquired Temkin International Inc., a provider of roll stock, stand-up pouches, floral sleeves, bags, and rigid thermoformed containers.

Hycan Holdings' subsidiaries signed five-year supply contracts with Exxon Mobil's units in Taicang and Tianjin to supply plastic bottles. The contracts are framework agreements with details defined by purchase orders.

Xenon acquired 100% of Mectra and Emmeti in Montecchio Emilia and Sipac and Logik in Fontevivo, creating Ems Group, a packaging line maker with EUR 130 million turnover and 290 employees. The deal was reported on 2018-12-13.

Prowell is building a new corrugated sheet board plant with a £75 million ($96.2 million) investment in Ellesmere Port, England. Construction began in November 2017, with production expected in Q4 2018 and about 45 jobs created.

Polythene packaging firm Palagan increased manufacturing capacity by up to 20% by investing in a new film extruder at its Dunstable site.

New Plastics Plus, a custom thermoform manufacturer for medical devices, is spending about $7.2 million to build a new 91,000 sq ft facility in St. Michael, Minnesota, creating about 10 jobs.

Vartdal Plast has acquired a 91% stake in Løvold Industri, a Norwegian manufacturer of fish packaging and building insulation. The price was not disclosed. Løvold Industri will continue as a separate company with Vartdal branding.

Henkel signed an agreement to acquire JemPak Corporation, Canada, for C$118 million on a cash-free and debt-free basis. JemPak focuses on laundry and home care retailer brands.

Syndicat Mixte du Port de Dieppe awarded Schoeller Allibert a EUR 37,809 contract for 1,500 food-grade crates with lids and 160 stackable plastic pallets. The award was dated November 26, 2018 and published February 5, 2019.

Liberty Diversified International has begun construction on a new $45 million facility for its Omaha Box Company subsidiary in Papillion, Nebraska, to make custom corrugated cartons and displays. The plant is slated for completion in 2019.

Loop Industries entered into a multi-year master term and conditions supply agreement with the Coca-Cola Cross Enterprise Procurement Group for Loop PET plastic, effective November 14, 2018.

MULTIVAC Bulgaria Production opened a new €18.8 million parts and components production facility near Sofia, Bulgaria, in June 2018, creating approximately 150 jobs.

German cardboard maker Progroup invested £74 million in a new 327,000 sq ft corrugated sheet plant in Ellesmere Port, UK, replacing its existing site and creating 51 jobs. Construction completes in December 2018.

Resource Label Group acquired US-based Best Label, a labelling solutions provider serving several industries, to expand its footprint along the US west coast. The deal value was not disclosed.

Nestlé Nespresso signed a memorandum of understanding with Rio Tinto to source 100% sustainable aluminium for its coffee capsules by 2020, with Rio Tinto as the first company certified by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative.

Tetra Pak, in collaboration with Veolia, intends to recycle used beverage cartons across the European Union by 2025, recovering paperboard and polymer-aluminium material.

Gebo Cermex supplied Unilever a complete end-of-line solution, including the WB46 wrap-around case packer, at its Dubai site.

Can maker 吉源-KY (Jiyuan Packaging) plans to invest over NT$1 billion (approx. US$32 million) to add a second aluminum can production line in the second half of 2019. The location is being evaluated among its Guangdong, Hubei, and Anhui plants, and the line will double annual capacity.

Gruppo ASA held a foundation-stone ceremony in San Marino for a new structure that will house its KBA Metal Star 3 nine-colour lithographic printing line, due to be operational by summer 2019.

Mondi plans a €30 million upgrade of its Bupak corrugated packaging facility in the Czech Republic, including a new state-of-the-art corrugator and a customer experience centre. Completion is scheduled for 2020, and the plant's production capacity will double.

Pipers Crisps installed two tna robag FX 3ci vertical form-fill-seal machines, doubling packaging capacity to 140 bags per minute and reducing waste.

Humdinger, a UK snack manufacturer, purchased two Ilapak Vegatronic 6000 baggers to improve packaging line efficiency, with the first installed in February 2018.

P. Van De Velde Group agreed to acquire 100% of the shares of Vekopak, a Tilburg premium folding carton producer, strengthening its Van De Velde Packaging unit. The deal adds about 60 employees.

US engineering products maker TriMas agreed to acquire Plastic Srl, an Italian manufacturer of caps and closures, for an undisclosed sum. Plastic Srl will become a wholly owned division of TriMas' Rieke business on completion in the first half of 2019.

Proplasa, a subsidiary of Mexican bottler Grupo GEPP, has installed flexible packaging machines from Italian manufacturer Amut, including three co-ex lines for blown PE shrink film and one cast line for stretch film, to produce over 14,000 tons/year of shrink film and over 4,500 tons/year of stretch film.

Surepak Limited, a Nottinghamshire flexible packaging manufacturer, invested £1.31 million in a Comexi F4 flexographic printing press and a Comexi SL2 lamination unit, financed by an HSBC UK loan. The new machinery brings printing in-house and improves production efficiency.

Malaysian packaging services firm Scientex agreed with several vendors to acquire a 42.41% controlling stake in Daibochi for MYR222.5 million ($53.11 million), subject to a conditional share sale agreement.

LBP Manufacturing, a US foodservice packaging company, acquired Dominion QSR, the quick-service restaurant packaging unit of Dominion Packaging. Dominion QSR operates a 240,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in the US. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Royal Box Group, a division of Schwarz Partners, acquired Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania-based corrugated packaging maker Mid-Atlantic Packaging, with Mesirow Financial as exclusive financial advisor. The announcement is dated 15 November 2018.

Hamburger Rieger is investing about €370 million in a second paper machine at its Spremberg mill in Brandenburg, adding 500,000 tonnes per year of containerboard capacity. Construction began in September 2018 with completion scheduled for 2020, and about 200 jobs are expected.

Indorama Ventures (IVL) acquired a 74% share of Egypt-based PET preforms maker Medco Plast, which has annual capacity of 70,000 metric tonnes. The deal was reported on 15 November 2018.