(BUSINESS WIRE) – Veolia (Paris:VIE) has signed and closed the acquisition of Dutch company AKG Kunststof Groep, a European market leader in the field of recycling and compounding of polypropylene. With this acquisition, Veolia boosts its development in the field of circular economy and confirms its goal to become a reference producer of recycled raw materials.
AKG Kunststof Groep is a specialist and custom manufacturer of a broad assortment of high-quality polypropylene (PP) granulates which are sold to manufacturers of plastic products, often substituting virgin plastics. Raw materials are either pre-processed plastic flakes with a high PP content, mainly sourced from commercial, industrial or household waste or PP production scraps, sourced from manufacturers of PP products. Post-consumer fraction of the PP (i.e. household recyclables) used by AKG has recently grown up to 90% of the sourcing. Customer applications of AKG products notably include horticultural, infrastructure, electronic appliances, automotive and packaging products. Operating out of Vroomshoop in the Netherlands, AKG currently employs 53 people, has sold 37,000 tons of recycled material and has posted revenues of EUR 34 million in 2014.
AKG is to become one of Veolia’s Centre of Expertise, specializing in the field of PP recycling, compounding and manufacturing. With a state-of-the-art equipped laboratory, providing comprehensive analysis in each stage of the production process, in combination with highly developed formulation skills, as well as advanced separation technologies currently developed, the Vroomshoop facility will be the cornerstone for the expansion of Veolia’s European platform of recycled raw plastic materials manufacturing.
For Antoine Frérot, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Veolia, “this operation is the next natural step for Veolia in its strategic transformation and development. Our growth on new thriving markets and our ability to provide solutions for the recovery and production of raw recycled materials have demonstrated the Group’s ability to turn the waste of some into resources for others, by encouraging the implementation of a circular economy from waste collection to treatment, and now to recycled materials manufacturing.”
René Wolfkamp, CEO of Wadinko, is pleased with Veolia as new shareholder and is looking forward to work with the Group on the further expansion of AKG: “‘the prospects for AKG in terms of market growth and profit are indeed favorable and together with Veolia we hope to accelerate this growth and as a result increase employment in the region. This is one of the primary objectives of Wadinko: promoting business and employment in our region”.
Active in the Netherlands for over 40 years, Veolia currently employs over 300 people and provides a range of sustainable energy and water utility services to both Dutch industrial and municipal clients. Where possible, the Group helps customers “close the loop” through the recycling and reusing of recovered resources arising from their production process in order to generate these utilities, such as Jacobs Douwe Egberts in Joure by using spent coffee grounds to produce energy for the production process. Furthermore, in Leeuwarden, within the field of Circular Economy, and in partnership with other local parties, Veolia is currently conducting innovative research through a pilot project into the generation of bioplastics from the sludge recovered from wastewater treatment facilities. The acquisition of AKG Kunststof Groep from the private equity fund Wadinko N.V will further augment the presence of Veolia in the Netherlands, and its already existing operations in the province of Overijssel. Under the terms of the transaction, Wadinko N.V will retain a minority share in AKG and sit at the supervisory board.
Source: Veolia
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