Hungarian processor Simon completes €3m expansion scheme

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Technical injection moulder Simon Plastics has become a significant plastics processor in Hungary after it invested almost EUR3m in a new plant in the west of the country, said Plasticsnewseurope.

The company, which specialises in producing plastics and metal components for the auto sector, expanded its capacity with the addition of a new production hall and six new injection moulding machines at its site in Koszarhegy.

With the assistance of European Union funding worth EUR1.13m, Simon Plastics, which was founded in 1985 by its owner Simon Istvan, spent EUR295,600 to extend the IT system to allow for planning and monitoring all injection machine moulding.

The project included converting a previous warehouse on the site into a mould making shop and offices. Simon utilises overall working space amounting to 15,000m2.

Its latest investment brings to three the number of plants now run by Simon Plastics. Its main production is centred on the village of Koszarhegy, near the city of Szekesfehervar, and the site of an existing facility. A third manufacturing unit is located in the nearby village of Szabadbattyan.

Simon Plastics, employing a total workforce of 480, now operates almost 100 injection moulding machines with a clamping force ranging from 25 to 1,000 tonnes. The equipment can be used for silicone and multi-component moulding.

Apart from automotive parts production, the firm moulds electrical connectors and plastic components for the electronics, medical, energy and food industries. Company customers include European auto product brands including Bosch, Hi-Lex, General Electric, Denso and Valeo.

Simon Plastics has recorded growing annual turnover in recent years and is reported to be expecting revenue to peak at nearly EUR20m in 2017 against around EUR17.6m last year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — The board of Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA voted to list its fuel distribution unit on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange, said Reuters.

Petrobras will sell a 25% to 40% stake in BR Distribuidora, as the unit is known, the filing said. The transaction is subject to approval by regulators.

As MRC informed earlier, in December 2016, Petroleo Brasileiro said its board approved the sale of two petrochemical companies, Petroquimica Suape and Citepe, to Mexico’s Alpek SAB de CV for USD385 million.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — Parkland Fuel Corporation, Canada’s largest and one of North America’s fastest growing independent marketers of fuel and petroleum products, announced the closing of its acquisition of Chevron Canada R & M ULC which operates a downstream fuel business in British Columbia and Alberta, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"This acquisition provides Parkland with British Columbia’s strongest fuel marketing business and will make Parkland the exclusive distributor of Chevron-branded fuels. With this acquisition, Parkland is also acquiring the Burnaby Refinery, a proven asset that directly supports our core fuel marketing business in an important region, and enhances our supply advantage," said Bob Espey, President and Chief Executive Officer of Parkland.

"We are extremely pleased to welcome the Chevron Canada refining and marketing employees to the Parkland team. We believe in and are committed to investing in these assets, and the local employees who will help us grow in BC and beyond."

Parkland closed the transaction on October 1, 2017 at 00:59am (Calgary time).

Parkland will update its 2017 Adjusted EBITDA guidance concurrently with the release of its Q3 2017 financial results.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sudpack Verpackungen GmbH of Germany is acquiring Seville Flexpack Corp., a move that provides the flexible packaging maker its first manufacturing operations in the United States, said Plasticsnewseurope.

Seville, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, put itself up for sale earlier this year following years of infighting between the heirs of Seville’s founder, Walter J. Yakich, following his death in June 2014.

"We’d been looking for a suitable candidate for our U.S. business for quite some time," said Johannes Remmele, managing partner at Sudpack, in a statement. "The site is ideal in a number of ways: the facilities offer modern equipment for flexographic and rotogravure printing, sufficient storage capacity, and most importantly: highly experienced workers."

Sudpack is based in Ochsenhausen, Germany, and previously only had a sales office in the United States in the Chicago area, the company said. The company also has 35 sales offices and production facilities in Germany, France, Poland and Switzerland. TKO Miller LLC, a Milwaukee-based investment bank, advised Seville on the sale.

"We saw a lot of parties interested in Seville, but Sudpack was a buyer that had a very good understanding of Seville’s business model, its manufacturing processes, and customer based as well as a desire to grow the business in Wisconsin," said Joe Froehlich, managing director of TKO Miller, in a statement.

Seville became part of Sudpack on Oct 1, and terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company has two manufacturing sites near its Oak Creek headquarters.

Sudpack’s Remmele pointed to Seville’s location "in the heart of the U.S. meat and cheese industry — to key customer segments for our packaging solutions. Taken together, it is the perfect fit for or corporate group."

Sudpack, using Seville’s facility, "expects to provide products to its U.S.-based customers more quickly and with more flexibility," the company said in a statement. Sudpack declined comment beyond a statement announcing the purchase.

"This is Sudpack’s first acquisition in the United States, and the company believes that it will set the groundwork for further expanding its U.S. presence," the company said in the statement.

The sale comes about eight months after children of Yakich agreed to sell the converter and hired TKO Miller to handle the transaction.

At the time, interim CEO Laxson Boyd said the goal was to find a strategic buyer, one that was already in the industry, to help maximize the value of the firm. At the time, he pointed to the company’s loyal customer base, employees and unused capacity as attractions for potential buyers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — A Canadian judicial review that could overturn the federal approval of Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will begin on Monday in Vancouver, said Reuters.

More than a dozen parties, including the company, government departments, environmental and aboriginal groups, will present their cases over two weeks before Canada's Federal Court of Appeal.

A decision against the USD5.9 B expansion would send it back for assessment, a move that would cause lengthy delays. It is rare for Canada's judiciary to review pipeline approvals. The last such review, heard in 2015, led to the rejection of Enbridge Inc's Northern Gateway pipeline by the federal government.

While the court has no firm deadline for rendering a judgment, it announced its decision against Northern Gateway in June 2016, about eight months after hearings ended. The Trans Mountain expansion would nearly triple the capacity of the existing pipeline from Canada's oil heartland of Alberta to the west coast of British Columbia. The two provinces joined the lawsuit this year on opposing sides.

The lawsuit, brought by environmental and aboriginal groups and coastal municipalities, argues that the National Energy Board (NEB) regulator did not properly review the project, neglecting to consider several environmental issues. It also claims the federal government did not properly consult affected aboriginal groups when it assessed the project.

On the other side of the lawsuit are Kinder Morgan, the federal government and the NEB. Kinder Morgan and the government did not respond to requests for comment. The regulator declined to comment. The government has called the export of its natural resources a "fundamental" responsibility, and that it has considered many factors in approving the project, including environmental concerns and views of affected aboriginal people.

Kinder Morgan has said it went through extensive consultations with aboriginal groups and communities along the expansion's path and remains dedicated to engaging them.

Canadian crude oil producers, who are not parties to the lawsuit, say they need projects such as the Trans Mountain expansion to fetch better prices for their landlocked product.

Eugene Kung, a lawyer representing the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, a party to the lawsuit, said the results of the Enbridge case suggest Trans Mountain opponents could win the case. Regardless of its outcome, it is likely be appealed to Canada's Supreme Court, Kung said.
MRC