Packaging supplier Novelis is looking to sell its printed confectionery business following the company’s plans to cease operations of its UK-based foil rolling and packaging lines by the end of April 2011.
The announcement comes after a 90-day consultation with the 319 employees at the Bridgnorth plant in England.
John Gardner, a spokesperson for the company, told confectionerynews.com that the factory is the only unit that hosts Novelis’ confectionery printing business. The manufacturer is therefore keen to sell the business so that the operations could continue.
Gardner said the company is currently in discussions with two potential buyers for business and that further information would be released in January.
“We are working very hard to find a viable option for the printing business,” he added.
The company’s foil rolling line and laminate producing lines will be transferred from the Bridgnorth plant to other European-based Novelis facilities, said Gardner.
However, the company said that part of the Bridgnorth packaging operation could also be sold.
Competition
Novelis said the closures form part of the company’s aims to improve the competitiveness of its overall foil and packaging production system. This is in response to over-capacity in the European foil market and increasing competition from manufacturers in low-cost countries.
"Despite significant effort by the Bridgnorth team, unfortunately a viable alternative to closure did not emerge for most of the operation," said Tadeu Nardocci, president of Novelis Europe and senior vice-president of Novelis.
Novelis supplies aluminum sheet and foil products throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South America.
The company, which manufactures aluminum rolled products and beverage can recycling, operates in 11 countries, with a reported $8.7bn revenue for 2010.
Novelis is a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries, one of Asia's largest integrated producers of aluminum and a leading copper producer.
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