Rotational molder Rotovia reveals expansion strategy

Rotovia BV, a new company that purchased Berry Global Group Inc.’s rotational molding operations earlier this year, has outlined plans to double its international business by 2028.

Rotovia is counting on strong organic growth through product innovations and expects to expand its staff “significantly,” though it did not reveal specifics. It plans to enter new segments “in existing geographies” and expand in current segments, it said in a recent news release. The company said it will also probe opportunities in mergers and acquisitions.

Emphasizing sustainability, Rotovia said it will introduce a product take-back recycling program and invest in research and development to reach more than 20 percent reused content in new products by 2028.

Private equity funds Freyja and SÍA IV of Reykjavík, Iceland, formed Rotovia as an umbrella company for their existing rotomolding operations combined with Berry’s. Evansville, Ind.-based Berry’s rotomolding business operated in its Consumer Packaging International segment, and produced net proceeds of $108 million.

Rotovia bought the business from Berry in June. In fiscal 2021, the rotomolding operations reported net sales of $146 million, according to a Berry SEC filing. About $15 million of those sales came from Berry’s sole North American rotomolding plant, container maker Saeplast Americas Inc., in St. John, New Brunswick.

In addition to Saeplast, Rotovia encompasses iTub of Ålesund, Norway, which rents out Saeplast containers; Varibox, which rotomolds intermediate bulk containers; and Tempra, which makes expanded polystyrene home insulation and EPS food packaging.

Rotovia started with the launch of Saeplast in 1984. The company expanded by acquiring other rotomolding companies in Norway and Canada, then Spain, Holland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Based in Reykjavík, it is now one of the largest rotomolders in the world, employing about 800 at 10 manufacturing sites.

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