Guala Closures to further consolidate its presence in glass bottles by entering the crown
closures sector, strengthening its market position in mineral water and non-alcoholic
beverages and expanding into the beer market.
Milan, 23 April 2024 – Guala Closures S.p.A. (“Guala Closures” or the “Group”) announced
that it has signed an agreement to acquire Astir Vitogiannis Bros S.A. (“Astir” or “the
Company”), a leading manufacturer of crown closures. Astir manufactures over 12 billion
closures annually and in the year ended 2023 generated a turnover of €75 million and an
EBITDA of €19 million.
Established in 1953, Astir has two production plants in Greece and South Africa and a strong
international presence. Its blue-chip clients include major international producers in both the
beer and non-alcoholic beverage industries.
Stelios Vitogiannis, CEO of Astir (and the founder’s grandson) will remain as CEO of the
business. He will reinvest in Guala Closures and report to Guala Closures' CEO Mauro
Caneschi.
This transaction is in line with Guala Closures’ strategy of pursuing and successfully
integrating synergistic acquisitions to profitably grow the business. After the acquisition of
Astir, Guala Closures will be capable of offering all available closures for glass bottles
worldwide.
Once completed, the acquisition of Astir will enable the Group to expand its presence in
emerging markets characterised by demographic growth and increasing per capita
consumption, and to provide closures for the attractive ready-to-drink and non-alcoholic
beverage segments.
Astir's products are designed for glass bottles, which reflect their use in premium products
in the relevant segments (including beer and non-alcoholic beverages), and are highly
sustainable, both factors being highly attractive to consumers.
Commenting on this transaction, Mauro Caneschi, CEO of Guala Closures, said: "We are
excited to be entering the crown closures market through the acquisition of Astir, a leading
international company at the forefront of its industry with an excellent track record, thanks
to its strong management team and long-term strategic vision. Astir perfectly reflects the
values of Guala Closures: combining tradition and innovation, and always prioritizing
customers, quality, service, and sustainability. The acquisition represents a further important
step in the Group’s growth strategy of strengthening its market position in the glass bottle
closures, alongside the goal to continue growing the business in exciting international
markets and within the luxury sector both organically and through acquisitions. We look
forward to welcoming Stelios and his team to our Group and to working together in the
coming years."
1
Stelios Vitogiannis, CEO of Astir, stated: “This transaction is a great opportunity for the
company and its employees, and will accelerate our next phase of growth. Over the last 50
years, Astir has consistently grown, becoming a leader in the crown closures segments. The
entry of Guala Closures will enable the Company to further expand its range of operations,
becoming a platform for consolidation within its sector. I am very pleased to begin this new
journey with a partner that has set itself very ambitious goals, while ensuring continuity for
the management team.”
The agreed enterprise value for the acquisition is of approximately €136 million. The
acquisition is subject to various standard closing conditions, including applicable regulatory
approvals, and is expected to close in H2 2024.
Additional information:
Guala Closures
Guala Closures offers premium and innovative closure solutions that provide protection and convenience to consumers
while enhancing customers' brands. With 33 production plants worldwide, Guala Closures Group is a world leader in the
production of closures for spirits, wines, beverages, oil, and condiments, that guarantees proximity to its customers, with
a localized and customized offer of services and solutions. Guala Closures Group today employs over 6,000 people and
produces around 17 billion closures a year globally.Guala Closures to further consolidate its presence in glass bottles by entering the crown closures sector, strengthening its market position in mineral water and non-alcoholic beverages and expanding into the beer market.
Milan, 23 April 2024 – Guala Closures S.p.A. (“Guala Closures” or the “Group”) announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Astir Vitogiannis Bros S.A. (“Astir” or “the Company”), a leading manufacturer of crown closures. Astir manufactures over 12 billion closures annually and in the year ended 2023 generated a turnover of €75 million and an EBITDA of €19 million.
Established in 1953, Astir has two production plants in Greece and South Africa and a strong international presence. Its blue-chip clients include major international producers in both the beer and non-alcoholic beverage industries.
Stelios Vitogiannis, CEO of Astir (and the founder’s grandson) will remain as CEO of the business. He will reinvest in Guala Closures and report to Guala Closures' CEO Mauro Caneschi.
This transaction is in line with Guala Closures’ strategy of pursuing and successfully integrating synergistic acquisitions to profitably grow the business. After the acquisition of Astir, Guala Closures will be capable of offering all available closures for glass bottles worldwide.
Once completed, the acquisition of Astir will enable the Group to expand its presence in emerging markets characterised by demographic growth and increasing per capita consumption, and to provide closures for the attractive ready-to-drink and non-alcoholic beverage segments.
Astir's products are designed for glass bottles, which reflect their use in premium products in the relevant segments (including beer and non-alcoholic beverages), and are highly sustainable, both factors being highly attractive to consumers.
Commenting on this transaction, Mauro Caneschi, CEO of Guala Closures, said: "We are excited to be entering the crown closures market through the acquisition of Astir, a leading international company at the forefront of its industry with an excellent track record, thanks to its strong management team and long-term strategic vision. Astir perfectly reflects the values of Guala Closures: combining tradition and innovation, and always prioritizing customers, quality, service, and sustainability. The acquisition represents a further important step in the Group’s growth strategy of strengthening its market position in the glass bottle closures, alongside the goal to continue growing the business in exciting international markets and within the luxury sector both organically and through acquisitions. We look forward to welcoming Stelios and his team to our Group and to working together in the coming years."
Stelios Vitogiannis, CEO of Astir, stated: “This transaction is a great opportunity for the company and its employees, and will accelerate our next phase of growth. Over the last 50 years, Astir has consistently grown, becoming a leader in the crown closures segments. The entry of Guala Closures will enable the Company to further expand its range of operations, becoming a platform for consolidation within its sector. I am very pleased to begin this new journey with a partner that has set itself very ambitious goals, while ensuring continuity for the management team.”
The agreed enterprise value for the acquisition is of approximately €136 million. The acquisition is subject to various standard closing conditions, including applicable regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in H2 2024.
Additional information:
Guala Closures
Guala Closures offers premium and innovative closure solutions that provide protection and convenience to consumers while enhancing customers' brands. With 33 production plants worldwide, Guala Closures Group is a world leader in the production of closures for One of South-East Asia’s leading manufacturers of printed packaging has chosen Vetaphone corona technology for its Fuji Kikai laminator. TPN FlexPak, which is part of the giant Thung Hua Sinn Group (THS), is based along with its sister Group companies on a vast 130,000m² site on the Wellgrow Industrial Park at Chachoengsao, around one hour’s drive from Bangkok.
THS was established in 1953 and is still in family ownership. Over the years it has launched new production companies under the Group umbrella, including TPN Medical Packaging, TPN Food Packaging, TPN Packaging, and TPN FlexPak, the latter in 1999. Today the Group employs 1250 people and like so many companies of its type in Asia offers a complete package of products and services from extrusion to finished flexible packaging products, including printing, and converting.
The Group is internationally renowned as a trusted supplier of tight tolerance, high-quality labels, paperboard, and flexible packaging products for a variety of sectors in the consumer goods market bath at home and overseas. Production lines are both highly automated and integrated to offer single-source supply, and printing is carried out on a bank of the latest offset, flexo, gravure and digital presses that are generally replaced every five years.
With more than 60 years’ experience and over 200 premium customers to serve, THS is both an award-winning company and a discerning customer for those manufacturers looking to supply technology. With a preference for high-quality machinery to meet the demands of its portfolio of the world’s leading brands, it is no surprise to see Windmöller & Hölscher (W&H), Nordmeccanica, and Fuji Kikai technology on the production floor.
According to Assistant Managing Director, Suebsak Koochaiyanon: “With brands like Nestlé and Kleenex to satisfy, only the best is good enough.” So, when it came to specifying a corona treatment supplier for FlexPak’s new laminator, Danish pioneer Vetaphone was the preferred choice. In fact, the company now has three of its treaters onsite, two on the laminator and one on a blown film extruder. Used mainly for laminating 12-micron PET to 7-micron aluminium foil, FlexPak runs the line at 250m/min on predominantly 600mm wide webs, although the Vetaphone system is actually a 1.3m VE1C-D 1420 treater with six ceramic electrodes with an iCorona 2UL 8kW generator.
Asked why Vetaphone was chosen in preference to alternative corona manufacturers, and FlexPak has plenty of experience with others, Mr Koochaiyanon explained: “Vetaphone treaters are much easier to maintain and service than any other type. The way the electrode cartridge slides-out and back in allows the operator easy access for cleaning, which we can do offline if we want to. It has better electrodes, better heat transfer, better cooling and has reduced our overall costs – it’s just better all-round!”
FlexPak provides some of the most innovative flexible packaging in the industry using the latest technology to ensure quality and create additional value in terms of efficiency and productivity for its customers. Flexibility is key in this, and the Group's operations are all fully integrated food grade process, even for non-food applications. All facilities are 100 percent enclosed and GMP-controlled, as well as G7, ISO 12647-2 accredited, and GMI rated for Target, Sears, and Walgreens.
Speaking for Vetaphone, Sales Manager for Asia-Pacific, Holger Selenka stated: “To have such a prestigious customer as the THS Group is testimony to the quality of Vetaphone technology and the pro-active efforts of our local agent S.K.Y. Engineering, which supplies the first-class sales and support that is essential for FlexPak - and we look forward to growing our business with them.”
