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Packaging 1997
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The information below comes from the UK Activity Report.
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BTR is said to have given Owens-Illinois of the US exclusive rights to bid for its glass packaging business, which includes Rockware and is worth about £700m. 22-Dec-1997 Watmoughs, the printing and packaging company, has rejected a £188m takeover bid from Quebecor Printing of Canada. 04-Dec-1997 Field Group, the packaging company, is looking at potential acquisitions in Spain, France and Italy, as it aims to build up a network to supply its multinational customers. 03-Dec-1997 RPC, the plastic packaging company, is to expand warehouse capacity and purchase new equipment by investing over £8m in the second half. 02-Dec-1997 BPB is planning to sell two paperboard mills in Manchester and the Netherlands and is to close its Northwich head office, in order to focus on the production of paperboard liners and cigarette and whisky cartons. 28-Nov-1997 AM Paper is to set up a £140m paper mill in Lancashire, to enable it to increase output of toilet and kitchen rolls. 20-Nov-1997 Ardagh is to invest £22m in the expansion of its glass bottle plant in Dublin, in order to help it serve new markets. 15-Nov-1997 Sidlaw is to target its restructuring on its underperforming Dutch business and plans to merge its Spanish business into one plant in Barcelona, as it increases its focus on flexible packaging. 11-Nov-1997 Field Group has acquired Avery Label, the Irish self-adhesive labels company, for an initial £5.4m. 11-Nov-1997 Jefferson Smurfit has sold its US plastics drums business to Russell Stanley for about £44m. 11-Nov-1997 Capital Industries is to cut 40 jobs at Samuel Jones, its laminated package labelling business that has been badly hit by currency movements. 07-Nov-1997 Jefferson Smurfit is to invest $120m in the expansion of its Mexican business, including a new corrugated plant, five extra sheet plants and increased paper-making capacity. 01-Nov-1997 Riverside Packaging has awarded a £2m contract to Brent International for the supply of inks and coatings. 30-Oct-1997 MY Holdings, the paperboard and plastic packaging company, is looking to set up strategic alliances with other producers, having failed to make any further acquisitions. 29-Oct-1997 Plysu has acquired Body Shop International's plastics moulding division and has agreed a long-term contract to supply a new range of PET bottles to the retailer. 29-Oct-1997 IMI has opened a factory in China to make drinks dispensers for cafes and bars, as part of its partnership with Coca-Cola. 24-Oct-1997 GKN is to start testing plastic pallets next year in an attempt to achieve a technological breakthrough that could result in the replacement of wooden pallets for the transport of heavy weights. 21-Oct-1997 Wace Group has sold Offset Separations Corp, the Arizona-based imaging business, to International ColorServices for £1.7m. 18-Oct-1997 Caraustar Industries of the US has said it is not planning an immediate bid for Britton Group, the plastics and packaging company, but has not ruled out an approach in the future. 15-Oct-1997 Britton, the packaging company, has rejected a £167m takeover bid from Caraustar Industries of the US. 10-Oct-1997 CA Coutts is acquiring Alltek Precision Plastics for £1.1m. 08-Oct-1997 Britton Group, the plastics and packaging concern, is planning to buy back up to 10% of its shares following the recent fall in its share price. 04-Oct-1997 Delta Print and Packaging is planning a £17m investment in its full-colour carton manufacturing factory in Belfast, creating 150 jobs. 02-Oct-1997 BOC has announced an agreement with Joseph Company of California to collaborate on the development of a self-chilling drinks can that uses recycled carbon dioxide. 26-Sep-1997 Britton Group, the plastics and packaging group, expects to soon complete an investment programme in new US plant which should help to prevent a further fall in profits. 24-Sep-1997 Rexam, the paper and packaging concern, is to start looking for bolt-on acquisitions now that its disposal programme is almost complete. 17-Sep-1997 Rexam has ended negotiations to acquire Keller Crescent Company, the US maker of healthcare cartons, as a result of due diligence. 13-Sep-1997 Only about half of the 5,000 companies covered are expected to meet this weekend's deadline for complying with new regulations for the recycling of packaging, but the Environment Agency is unlikely to penalise those that are only a few days late. 30-Aug-1997 Rexam has sold its Belgian plastic packaging business to DV Industri of Denmark for £6.1m. 21-Aug-1997 Jefferson Smurfit has acquired two corrugated box and board producers in Germany for £26m. 07-Aug-1997 UPC of the US, part of Britton Group, has won a five year contract to supply folding cartons to Kellogg USA. 06-Aug-1997 The EU is planning to introduce legislation in November which will require food manufacturers to include special labels on food that contains genetically modified soya or maize. 04-Aug-1997 Low & Bonar has lost a £40m a year carton supply contract with Kelloggs, which means it will have to review the future of its Manchester plant. 10-Jul-1997 The government is urging the European Union to undertake an urgent study into the new type of self-cooling drinks can, as they are said to release a gas that causes global warming. 19-Jun-1997 Plysu has acquired Iplast, the Spanish maker of clear plastic bottles, for £4.2m. 17-Jun-1997 Field Group is planning to invest £27m to increase output of carton packaging for the tobacco and alcohol industries, and is also looking to benefit from the growing market for pharmaceutical and healthcare packaging. 10-Jun-1997 Jarvis Porter is planning to move into the Irish Republic with its electronics label printing business, in order to serve the growing electronics sector. 21-May-1997 Comet, the electrical retailer, is planning a new scheme to recycle expanded polystyrene packaging into pellets for use in new products such as roofing slates and picture frames. 10-May-1997 Rexam is reorganising its food and beverage packaging business and selling its half of Blowmocan to Nampak for £2m. 08-May-1997 Wastelink, the waste disposal brokerage, is applying to the OFT to be allowed to set up a new scheme to help companies meet new regulations on the recycling of packaging, in competition to Valpak. 02-May-1997 Blagden Packaging France has sold Komet, the protective equipment business, to Christian Dalloz of France for £2.4m in order to focus on packaging and chemicals. 02-May-1997 Crest Packaging has bought Rexam Cartons, the folding cartons business, from Rexam for £3.8m. 02-May-1997 Dolphin Packaging has acquired Food Containers of Leeds for £2.2m. 02-May-1997 Boxmore International is planning to expand its European health care packaging business, and is on the look-out for acquisitions. 26-Mar-1997 Rexam is setting aside £358m for a restructuring which will see 500 job cuts in the UK and 1,200 worldwide. 20-Mar-1997 Goodhead is in discussions to acquire Benham, the printing business, from Rexam. 11-Mar-1997 Doughty Hanson, the private equity fund manager, has acquired a majority stake in the merged metal packaging operations of Pechiney of France and Viag of Germany. 06-Mar-1997 Field Group has acquired Ethical Print and Packaging, the pharmaceuticals concern, for £2.6m. 06-Mar-1997 British Polythene Industries is to restructure plants in Bury and Derbyshire that produce bags for supermarkets, due to increasing competition from Asia. 04-Mar-1997 De La Rue has acquired Harrison & Sons, the security printing operation, from Lonrho for a nominal sum. 19-Feb-1997 Low & Bonar is in discussions with the Kelloggs cereal group to extend their successful UK relationship into three other European plants. 18-Feb-1997 Boxmore has formed a joint venture with Rotan to build a factory in Jiangsu province, China, to make plastic bottles for the agrochemical sector. 05-Feb-1997 Up to 70% of senior managers in the UK have not made any preparations for the forthcoming EU-inspired laws that will require companies to fund the cost of recycling half their packaging waste, according to a study commissioned by Valpak. 27-Jan-1997 The European Parliament has approved new rules concerning the labelling of genetically modified foods, but environmentalists are protesting that the rules exempt ingredients that are "chemically identical" or "substantially equivalent" to conventional foods. 17-Jan-1997 Rexam, the packaging group, is to speed up its disposals programme by offering financial incentives to executives to sell the subsidiaries quickly and at a good price. 16-Jan-1997 Bunzl is acquiring Thinking Plastics of California for up to £2.5m. 09-Jan-1997 Bunzl has acquired RAP-ID Paper and Restaurant Supply of Canada for undisclosed terms. 07-Jan-1997 Peter Grant Papers is acquiring a paper mill from Lancaster-based Celtech, in order to gain control over its raw material supply. 07-Jan-1997 The information below comes from the UK Activity Report. 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