AR Metallizing, a Nissha subsidiary, completed its acquisition of the paper coating side of Eurofoil in Berlin, excluding the aluminium foil operation. The deal adds metallized paper capacity and direct food-contact packaging products.

Tosca will ship Wegmans Food Markets' case-ready meat in reusable plastic containers (RPCs), replacing corrugated packaging. The change is intended to meet Wegmans' sustainability goals.

Coveris is installing a 5-layer specialist agri extrusion line at its Kufstein plant in Austria to expand agri film capacity, with commissioning planned for Q2 2020.

Gryphon Investors signed a definitive agreement to make a strategic investment in Pacur LLC, a supplier of extruded PETG sheet for medical device packaging based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Terms were not disclosed and the founding family and management will remain owners.

Petoskey Plastics closed on $20 million in New Markets Tax Credits to finance a new rail-served recycling and manufacturing facility in McKinney, Texas, creating 154 jobs. The announcement was made on February 11, 2020.

Fedrigoni has completed its acquisition of the Ritrama group, an Italian multinational specialising in self-adhesive products.

Berry Global signed a deal to take in bales of recovered PE film, including LLDPE stretch wrap, from Georgia-Pacific Recycling at its Victoria, Texas plant. Berry is installing an extrusion line and repelletizing equipment, with processing expected to start in Q2 2020.

Biffa has opened a £27.5m ($35.8m) PET bottle recycling facility in Seaham, England, capable of processing 57,000 metric tons of PET per year and creating 100 full-time jobs.

Auer Packaging GmbH of Amerang, Germany received its first order from Rolls-Royce for Eurobehälter 'Made in Amerang' plastic containers and closed-lid large boxes to support Rolls-Royce's engine intralogistics. The order was placed in December 2019.

Italy's Enoplastic and France's Sparflex agreed a strategic merger to create a global leader in wine and spirits closures, with 13 production sites in 6 countries and a commercial presence in more than 90 countries. Investment firm Cobepa and the Moglia and Soutiran families remain shareholders.

Nypro, a Jabil company, announced plans to invest $18.5 million in its Asheville, North Carolina operations, adding 68 positions to its 325-person workforce. The expansion covers facilities, new technology and equipment for precision plastic healthcare products.

Somerset-based thermoformed packaging firm Kingsmoor Packaging has started the year with fully refurbished design, pattern and tooling facilities.

Mauser Packaging Solutions broke ground on an expansion of its Erkelenz, Germany facility, adding warehouse space and new reconditioning and recycled resin processing lines.

German plastic container maker Auer Packaging received its first order from Rolls-Royce, for Euro containers with hinged lids and closed big boxes used in engine production logistics. The order was received in December 2019 and reported on January 16, 2020.

Family-owned Auer Packaging of Amerang has won its first order from Rolls-Royce for plastic containers for intralogistics. The order covers Eurobehälter containers.

OCTAL, the largest global PET sheet and resin manufacturer on a single site, secured US$625 million of banking facilities to fund capex expansion at its locations in Oman, USA and Saudi Arabia.

SGL Carbon received a substantial contract from a North-American automaker for high-volume serial production of carbon and glass fiber composite battery enclosure layers, with serial production starting end of 2020. A smaller contract from a European sports car maker was also won.

Mondi Kalenobel developed a recyclable polypropylene mono-material film replacing a multi-material laminate for Unilever's Knorr dry soup powder in Turkey. The packaging has been introduced to the Turkish market for selected Knorr designs.

Agencja Rozwoju Przemyslu bought shares in ZPO Opakomet Lowicz and Opakomet Krakow for over PLN 18 million, a first step toward forming the Polish Packaging Group Opakomet through a merger of the two companies.

Kaneka has completed a PHBH biodegradable polymer plant with annual production capacity of about 5,000 tons, five times its previous model, at an investment of around 2.5 billion yen.

Pregis is investing $5 million in a fourth multilayer Windmoeller & Hoelscher blown film line at its Pregis Films facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan, adding about 4 million pounds of annual output, and is leasing 35,000 additional square feet of warehouse space.

Gerresheimer officially opened a new plant in Kosamba, India, on December 16, 2019, to manufacture plastic primary packaging for pharmaceutical products.

Sulapac, a maker of microplastic-free materials, and Quadpack, a cosmetic packaging provider, signed a preferred partnership agreement to supply sustainable cosmetic packaging worldwide. Quadpack will launch the Sulapac Nordic Collection jars in spring 2020.

Gerresheimer officially opened a new plant in Changzhou, China, producing plastic primary packaging for pharmaceuticals. The facility operates in clean rooms of class 9 and 7 and has FDA registration for US-type containers.

INEOS Styrolution and Agilyx are advancing development of a polystyrene chemical recycling facility in Channahon, Illinois, capable of processing up to 100 tons per day of post-consumer polystyrene. The next phase covers engineering and design.

Constantia Flexibles has opened Constantia Ecoflex Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India, described as the first plant designed to produce sustainable, recyclable flexible packaging. The 24,500 sq m plant began test runs in September 2019 and has 50 staff.

Danimer Scientific will supply several million pounds of biodegradable resins over a multi-year agreement for Genpak's new GenZero food packaging line. The partnership was announced on November 25, 2019.

US packaging firm Sonoco acquired Thermoform Engineered Quality (TEQ) and Stevenage-based Plastique Holdings from ESCO Technologies for about £145 million ($187 million).

Logoplaste Group signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Polish PET container manufacturer Masterchem, with the founding family keeping a significant minority stake. Closing is expected in Q1 2020, subject to regulatory approvals.

Trioplast Group signed an agreement on November 22, 2019 to acquire Dutch plastic film maker Apeldoorn Flexible Packaging (AFP) from JPF Netherlands BV, part of B.C. Jindal group. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.

Panattoni Europe is converting 12,000 sqm at Panattoni Business Center Łódź III into a plant for Sealed Air producing PE foam packaging. Production is scheduled to start in November 2019 under a lease signed in April 2019.

Evonik Industries is expanding its capacity for organic dispersions used in heat seal lacquers at its Darmstadt, Germany site, with completion scheduled for the second half of 2021. The dispersions serve food and beverage flexible packaging.

Halifax County commissioners awarded STX Corporation the contract to build a rail spur serving JBB Packaging's plastics packaging plant in Weldon, North Carolina, at $529,220, with North Carolina Railroad and DOT funding the project. Completion is expected within 60 days.

Sonoco signed a definitive agreement to acquire Thermoform Engineered Quality (TEQ) from ESCO Technologies for approximately $187 million in cash. TEQ makes thermoformed packaging for healthcare, medical device and consumer markets, with facilities in the US, UK and Poland.

FoamPartner Fritz Nauer AG is building a converting center for industrial technical foams at its Duderstadt site in Germany, scheduled to start in the first half of 2020 and create several new jobs.

L'Occitane extended its partnership with Loop Industries, which will supply 100% of the PET resin for its bottles from a joint facility with Indorama Ventures in South Carolina, letting L'Occitane reach its 100% recycled bottle goal ahead of 2025.

Huhtamaki agreed to acquire 70% of Everest Flexibles, a private flexible packaging manufacturer in Durban, South Africa, at an enterprise value of EUR 58 million. Sellers will hold 30% of Huhtamaki's South African activities through a joint venture; completion is subject to competition approval.

Refresco acquired AZPACK, a contract manufacturer of bottles and containers for the food and beverage industry headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, on November 14, 2019. Terms were not disclosed.

United Soft Plastics has opened a new 4,500-tonne thermoplastic elastomer compounding facility in Houston, Texas, complementing its Lawrenceville, Georgia plant. The site is expected to create up to 25 production jobs.

German group Continental completed the takeover of Merlett Tecnoplastic, a Daverio, Italy plastics manufacturer with about 510 employees, which becomes part of its ContiTech division. The handover ceremony was held in Varese on 9 November 2019.

Austrian packaging maker Alpla acquired Spanish HDPE recycling companies Suminco and Replacal, entering HDPE recycling. Alpla has set aside EUR 50 million for its recycling expansion; the deal value was not stated.

Canadian packaging firm GELPAC acquired WBC Extrusion Products of Haverhill, Massachusetts, a maker of single-use blown polymer films, as announced by advisor Woodbridge International. The deal strengthens GELPAC's North American position.

Food tray maker Efupico will invest about 2.7 billion yen to expand processing and moulding equipment for food containers made from used PET bottles. It plans to raise capacity by 20% within fiscal 2020.

SELIT North America opened its second US production site in Commerce, Georgia, in November 2019, with two polystyrene extrusion lines and an on-site foam recycling department. Two more extrusion lines are planned for the end of 2021.

Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has started using M&G Packaging's BioNatur Plastics biodegradable protective sheeting and wrap in its cargo handling operations, replacing most of its conventional plastic wrap. The move was reported on 29 October 2019.

Berlin Packaging agreed to acquire Netherlands-based Novio Packaging Group, which has about 160 employees and operations across northern Europe, adding plastic and glass packaging capacity. The deal was announced on 29 October 2019 and the value was not disclosed.

ID Plastics LP announced it will invest $9.8 million to open its first U.S. manufacturing operation in Auburn, Alabama, creating 50 jobs over three years. The plant will initially produce the ID PACK collapsible returnable transport container sleeve.

Solvay will increase production capacity of its Tecnoflon FKM peroxide curable fluoroelastomer by nearly a third at its Spinetta Marengo plant in Italy, with the extra capacity due by May 2021. The expansion serves demand from automotive, oil and gas, and semiconductor industries.

Orienta Partners, an investor in Italian SMEs, acquired 100% of Virosac, a leading Italian producer of waste and food storage bags based in Pederobba, from private equity fund Alto Capital III and DVR Capital. Virosac had 2018 revenue of 39.7 million euros.

Private investment firm Graham Partners acquired VPET Plastics, a PET packaging producer headquartered in Fontana, California, announced to customers on October 2, 2019.