RPC Group

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RPC Group
Company typePublic
LSERPC
IndustryPlastic Products (Packaging & Non-Packaging)
Founded1988 as Reedpack Containers
1991 as RPC Containers
HeadquartersRushden, Northamptonshire
Key people
Jamie Pike, Chairman Pim Vervaat, Chief Executive
Revenue£3,747.7 million (2018)[1]
£425.0 million (2018)[1]
£253.8 million (2018)[1]
Number of employees
24,295 (2018)[1]
Websitewww.rpc-group.com

RPC Group plc (LSERPC) is based in the United Kingdom, and is one of Europe's largest supplier of plastic packaging.[2] Its headquarters are in Rushden in Northamptonshire. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Berry Global Group Inc.

History[edit]

The company's origins lie in a plastic packaging production unit at Oakham established by a Danish group, Superfos, in 1973.[3] The plant was acquired by Reed International in 1983 and was the subject of a management buyout as Reedpack Containers in 1988, but was then bought by Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget in 1990.[3] The business was then the subject of a management buyout from Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget in 1991.[4] It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1993.[4] It went on to buy Continental Plastics Europe, with 12 sites across Europe, in 1997[4] and Wiko, an injection moulding business based in Germany, in July 2000.[5] In December 2010 it bought Superfos Industries, its former parent, for about €240 million (£203 million).[6]

Acquisitions[edit]

In December 2013 the company acquired Maynard & Harris Plastics, a manufacturer of rigid plastic packaging, for £103.5 million[7] and in May 2014 it bought Ace Corporation Holdings, a Chinese injection moulder, for up to $430 million.[8] It then bought Promens, with 50 plants internationally, in a €386 million (£306 million) deal in December 2014.[9]

For 2016, the company earned £2.75 billion, a two-thirds jump in revenue from the year before after a series of acquisitions. Among those acquisitions were the bottle-top maker GCS in France and British Polythene Industries.[10] In March 2016 the company bought French bottle-top maker Global Closure Systems for €650 million (£468.7 million) to strengthen its position in Europe's plastic packaging market[11] and in August 2016 the company bought British Polythene Industries for £261 million.[12] It went on to buy Letica, an American business, for $640 million in February 2017.[13] As of June 2017, Pim Vervaat served as chief executive. Since December 2015, RPC had completed 11 acquisitions.[10]

Take-over[edit]

The company announced in March 2019 that it had agreed to be taken over by Berry Global Group Inc.[14]

Operations[edit]

The company makes a wide variety of plastic food-packaging products including Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Nivea, L'Oréal, Saxa, Jacob's, McVitie's and Hubba Bubba.[6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Annual Report 2018" (PDF). RPC Group. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Amcor leads Europe's Plastics Packaging Industry". Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  3. ^ a b "RPC Group". Reference for business. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  4. ^ a b c RPC Group Marketing Services. "RPC Company History". rpc-group.com. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  5. ^ "RPC Group spends $36 million on WIKO". Plastics News. 31 July 2000. Retrieved 23 April 2017.[dead link]
  6. ^ a b "Questor share tip: RPC's acquisition looks good". Daily Telegraph. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  7. ^ "RPC acquires plastics group M&H in £100m deal". Packaging News. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  8. ^ "RPC buys China's Ace Corp. in Asia push". Plastics News. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  9. ^ "RPC Group buys Promens in a €386m deal". Print Week. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  10. ^ a b Pooler, Michael; Megaw, Nicholas. "Shares drop at plastic packaging maker RPC". Financial Times. United Kingdom. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  11. ^ "RPC to buy bottle-tops maker Global Closure Systems". FT. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  12. ^ "RPC buys British Polythene Industries in £261m deal". FT. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  13. ^ "Britain's RPC Group to buy U.S.-based Letica for up to $640 million". Reuters. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  14. ^ "Berry buying RPC Group for €3.86bn to create 'global' platform". Plastic News Europe. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.

External links[edit]