Page 10 - Packaging News Magazine Sep-Oct 2019

DIARY
Labelmakers buys Le Mac
NEWS
www.packagingnews.com.au September-October 2019
LABELMAKERS Group is set to acquire the country’s biggest linerless labels producer, Le Mac Australia, for an undis- closed sum.
Labelmakers says the syner- gies created through this trans- action “will generate enor- mous value for our customer base, combining Labelmakers’ extensive range of printed la- bel and packaging solutions with Le Mac’s capabilities across linerless labels, shrink sleeves, and tamper evident labels and packaging”.
Paul O’Sullivan, CEO of La- belmakers, said, “Le Mac is un- deniably the market leader for linerless labels in Australia, which are generating signifi- cant interest from customers across the labelling arena. Its shrink sleeve capability further complements our own leader- ship position in shrink sleeve labelling. The bringing together
of the two businesses makes complete sense in terms of La- belmakers supporting custom- ers in these two growth areas.”
Le Mac, headed up by man- aging director Mike Cowan, was established in 1984, three years before Labelmakers. Le Mac was the first company in Australia to introduce the complete Linerless Label-
ling System, which elimi- nates the environmentally problematic requirement for a release liner and associated waste.
The label application system itself also delivers greater line efficiencies to sectors where faster labelling speeds are re- quired, such as the pre-pack- aged meat sector. ■
O.F Pack buys Plasticover
MELBOURNE-BASED flexible pack- aging specialist O.F Pack has acquired flexible packaging printer and converter Plasti- cover for an undisclosed sum, enabling the expansion of its local pouch and bag convert- ing operation.
With the growth in digitally printed flexible packaging and the attendant demand for fast turnaround on flexible packaging conversion, O.F Pack has for some time recog- nised the need to expand its local manufacturing base.
Over the past year, the compa- ny has been eyeing various ac- quisition opportunities in the market, announcing recently that it has purchased the well- established Plasticover, a 20-year-old business based in Carrum Downs, Victoria.
PKN spoke to MD Joe Foster, who said the two companies had worked togeth- er some years ago with his previous company, Foster Packaging, which merged with Omni- verse Group to form Omniverse Fos-
A range of flexible packaging produced by Plasticover, now a wholly- owned subsidiary of O.F Pack.
ter in 2016 before re-branding to O.F Pack earlier this year.
“Plasticover has been in operation for over two decades, and although it has flown large- ly under the radar, it is well positioned in the market and covers a wide range of flexible packaging, with its main focus in the horticulture sector,” Foster said. “It was a great fit with our business.”
Plasticover has a broad cus- tomer base across multiple food and non-food markets, offering flexo printing, lami- nation, and various types of printed poly bags.
O.F Pack has acquired all the assets of the business, includ- ing the existing customer base. The plan is to consolidate O.F Pack’s local bag and pouch- making capability under one roof at the Carrum Downs site, and to upgrade the facility to allow for expansion of its food- grade packaging. ■
Labelmakers will bring Le Mac Australia under its umbrella.
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K 2019
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