Sidel Forms Subsidiary for Actis Process; Acquires Norden

Sidel Group has created Sidel Actis Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sidel, S.A. to operate the Actis process business and to hold related patents. As operator of the Actis process, SAS will ensure regular maintenance of the plasma generators and collect royalties from customers in respect of maintenance and for the use of the patents.

Actis-treated (Amorphous Carbon Treatment on Internal Surface) PET packaging offers advanced properties for packaging such products as beer. Oxygen barrier properties are increased 30 times compared to traditional, single-layer PET bottles, and the CO₂ barrier is seven times stronger, the company says. This makes the PET bottles' barrier properties comparable to glass bottles and metal drink cans. The ACTIS process is suitable for PET packaging for beer, carbonated beverages and any oxygen-sensitive beverages.

In a separate move, Sidel has acquired the Swedish company Norden, a designer, manufacturer and marketer of filling and packaging machines as well as packaging for the cosmetics and pharmaceuticals industries. Norden had FF 550 million in sales in 1998. Combining Norden and Kalix, acquired by Sidel in 1993, the Sidel Group will become a premier player in the tube filling machinery market with 45% market share.

Edited by Bill Noone