RPC Group
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| LSE: RPC | |
| Industry | Plastic Products (Packaging & Non-Packaging) |
| Founded | 1988 as Reedpack Containers 1991 as RPC Containers |
| Headquarters | Rushden, 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] |
| Website | www.rpc-group.com |
RPC Group plc (LSE: RPC) 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
Origins and growth
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
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
The company announced in March 2019 that it had agreed to be taken over by Berry Global Group Inc.[14]
Operations
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
- ^ a b c d "Annual Report 2018" (PDF). RPC Group. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ "Amcor leads Europe's Plastics Packaging Industry". Retrieved 22 December 2014.
- ^ a b "RPC Group". Reference for business. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ a b c RPC Group Marketing Services. "RPC Company History". rpc-group.com. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ "RPC Group spends $36 million on WIKO". Plastics News. 31 July 2000. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ a b "Questor share tip: RPC's acquisition looks good". Daily Telegraph. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "RPC acquires plastics group M&H in £100m deal". Packaging News. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
- ^ "RPC buys China's Ace Corp. in Asia push". Plastics News. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
- ^ "RPC Group buys Promens in a €386m deal". Print Week. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ a b Pooler, Michael; Megaw, Nicholas. "Shares drop at plastic packaging maker RPC". Financial Times. United Kingdom. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ "RPC to buy bottle-tops maker Global Closure Systems". FT. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "RPC buys British Polythene Industries in £261m deal". FT. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "Britain's RPC Group to buy U.S.-based Letica for up to $640 million". Reuters. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "Berry buying RPC Group for €3.86bn to create 'global' platform". Plastic News Europe. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.