Extrusion International 6-2021

26 Extrusion International 6/2021 INDUSTRY NEWS Biesterfeld Group www.biesterfeld.com GME Chemicals www.gme-chemicals.com Presence in Asia Expanded „ The Biesterfeld Group, Hamburg, Germany, has established a joint venture by acquiring a majority stake in Singapore-based GME Chemicals. The closing was now completed. A complete takeover of the remaining shares will take place in fi ve years, ac- cording to the contract. By acquiring a stake in GME Chemicals, one of the leading distributors of specialty chemicals and poly- mers in South-East Asia, Biesterfeld is continuing its geographic expansion and growth strategy and laying the foundation for a targeted and long-term expansion of its market position in one of the world’s fastest-growing regions in its core business. GME Chemicals is active in the markets for performance and in- dustrial chemicals, food, pharmaceuticals, elastomers and spe- cialty polymers, and also in developing sustainable solutions for their customers. The company, which was established in 1999 in Singapore, has grown successfully and is represented by operat- ing subsidiaries in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and China, and has 60 employees. Dirk Biesterfeld, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Biester- feld AG, explains: “Asia is a signi fi cant growth market and of strategic importance to us. Here, too, we want to signi fi cantly increase our market presence together with our suppliers. As a family-owned company, reliability, a long-term commitment, „ Mondi has won three awards for sustainable packaging at the Austrian Green Packaging Star Awards. The annual Green Packaging Star Awards recognise environ- mentally-friendly packaging and recycling solutions, as well as packaging-related improvements in operational processes in production, logistics, and distribution. The award is presented by Kompackmag- azine and the Austrian Research Institute for Chemistry and Technology. The judges of these awards recognised the high standard of the following three Mondi products: EcoVantage paper for Tesco shopping bags, Functional Barrier Paper substitut- ing plastic packaging, and WalletPack Re- Green Packaging Star Award cyclable for well-known German deli meats. Working with Bell Germany, Mondi created packaging for the meat producer’s ‘Abraham’ range of sliced deli meats. WalletPack Recyclable, a mono-material solution that helps prevent food waste and has been veri fi edby theGerman institute cyclos-HTP as 93%recycla- ble. The folded approach keeps the deli meats fresh and easy to access and requires 37% lessmaterial to be produced. Launched in early 2021, it is set to save 35 tonnes of plastic waste per year for Bell Germany. Peter Orisich, CEO Flexible Packaging & Engineered Materials, Mondi, says: “We are committed to taking action on climate and creating circular driven solutions. With our action plan, MAP2030, we have set out our ambitious sustainability commit- ments and targets for the next ten years. We are delighted that these product have been recognised by the Kompack Green Packaging Star awards for their sustainability credentials.” Mondi www.mondigroup.com and the joint cooperation of all employees are particularly im- portant to us. The GME portfolio is an excellent addition to the Biesterfeld Group and we are gaining highly quali fi ed employ- ees. I look forward to the cooperation and a successful future together.” PhilipChew,ManagingDirector and shareholder of GME Chem- icals, emphasizes, “In Biesterfeld, we have not only found a ma- jority shareholder and, in the future, a new owner, but a true partner. We share the same business view and the same values. As shareholders, we will therefore remain in the company with our management team and our employees. I am sure that with our know-how, we can jointly and signi fi cantly expand the solu- tion portfolio for customers in Asia and accelerate the growth of our suppliers in our markets. I look forward to our continued journey as part of the Biesterfeld Group.” Fromlefttoright:CarstenHarms,MemberoftheExecutiveBoardBiesterfeld AGandManagingDirector BiesterfeldPlastic andBiesterfeldPerformance Rubber, ThomasArnold, CEOBiesterfeldAG, PeterWilkes,Managing Director BiesterfeldSpezialchemie, Kai Froböse, CFOBiesterfeldAG From left to right: SH Liow, Executive Director GME Chemicals, Philip Chew, Managing Director GME Chemicals, Pernod Sim, Executive Director GME Chemicals