Page 8 - Packaging News magazine May-June 2022

8 NEWS | www.packagingnews.com.au | May-June 2022 Viva Energy buys LyondellBasell
GEELONG-BASED national polymer manufacturer and distributor LyondellBasell Australia is being acquired by Viva Energy Group.
Viva says the acquisition will be a key step in the development of the company’s Energy Hub.
LyondellBasell is the country’s only polypropylene manufac- turer, supplying the ANZ market with raw material for the produc- tion of diverse plastic products, ranging from food packaging and medical equipment to polymer bank notes.
Its 60-strong customer base runs across ANZ, Asia, India, the Middle East and North America.
According to Viva, the busi- ness is “strongly complementary to Viva’s refining operations”, with the refinery’s propylene production used as the feedstock in LyondellBasell’s existing manufacturing operations.
Viva says LyondellBasell has “a strong market position”, manufac- turing and importing a range of polymers with both broad market use and specialist applications.
It says the acquisition broadens the scope of Viva’s manufacturing capability, and further diversifies its product mix and marketing opportunities, saying the busi- ness has good fundamentals and a solid operating model, with potential for growth.
The acquisition of LyondellBassell Australia will broaden Viva Energy’s manufacturing capability.
LyondellBasell employs approximately 100 people across manufacturing, supply chain and marketing operations. According to Viva, the produc- tion facility at Geelong “plays an important role” in the optimisa- tion of the Geelong refinery.
Scott Wyatt, CEO of Viva Energy, said, “This acquisition is another step in the develop- ment of our Geelong Energy Hub and the further diversification of our commercial and industrial
businesses. This facility and its manufacturing capability are vital to the economies of Victoria and Australia, and can have important roles to play in Australia’s circu- lar economy through the recycling of plastics. The acquisition of this business opens the door for inno- vation and the development of new business opportunities.”
Mitchell Killeen, MD of LyondellBasell said, “The com- pany has a proud operational and trading history in Australia, and
IN an Australian first, Visy has confirmed its ability to produce a 50 per cent recycled plastic (rHDPE) milk bottle.
In a recent 9News report, Visy said its $29 million multi-state plastics recycling investment is diverting up to 1.9 billion plastic bottles from landfill and export each year, and keeping more plastics in the circular economy to be re-made locally into food grade products.
The 9News report pointed out that 98,000 tonnes of post con- sumer plastic comes through the doors of Visy’s facility each year, mainly from kerbside col- lections, and that previously the milk bottles made from recycled plastic at this facility had only 20 per cent recycled content.
we are excited to see this con- tinue under Viva’s ownership.
“As part of the transaction, we have agreed that Viva will become our local distributor and we look forward to working with it. This business has an impor- tant role in Australia’s future.”
The transaction is for 100 per cent of LyondellBasell through a share sale. According to Viva, the long-term business arrange- ments will “deliver value” for both Viva and LyondellBasell. ■
In the report Rob Dvorak, RPlastics manager, Visy, said, “With this investment we’re now able to close the loop, improve the circular economy and make sure that milk bottles can go back into milk bottles.”
The report confirmed that the new process took a lot of testing, and has been given the approval for food grade recycling, and that the goal is now for other recycling organisations to fol- low suit.
“We were one of the leaders producing PET plastic bottles with 100 per cent recycled con- tent when this facility first started 10 years ago. And we are now leading the way recycling some of the hard to recycle plas- tics,” Dvorak said. ■
Visy to produce 50% rHDPE milk bottle
Breakthrough: Visy makes 50% rHDPE milk bottle.