Fedrigoni inks partnership with former Arjowiggins China site, acquires French R&D center

After acquiring Spanish premium papers specialist Guarro Casas from struggling Arjowiggins late last year, Italy’s Fedrigoni has inked an industrial partnership with Arjowiggins Group’s former speciality paper mill in China, and acquired its R&D center in France. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

The manufacturing partnership with the specialty paper mill in China has seen Fedrigoni provide a loan to an acquisition vehicle set up by two former Arjowiggins executives. The deal includes a call option giving Fedrigoni the option to take over the company in the longer term.

Located in Quzhou, Zhejiang province, the paper mill produces traslucent papers under the Gateway, Idem and Sylvicta brands, with applications ranging from industrial design to luxury packaging. The site has 130 staff and annual production capacity of 7,000 tons.

The deal - its first paper mill in China -- strengthens Fedrigoni’s presence in Asia. The group also has a factory for self-adhesive materials in Hefei, China, and 11 warehouses in Asia (its distribution network spans China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines and Bangladesh. Fedrigoni also highlights the advantage of expanding its transluscent papers product portfollio – under the Sylvicta brand, this material has the potential to replace plastic in packaging. Innovation centered on moving from plastic to paper is a big investment focus, states Fedrigoni.

Boosting R&D in France

Fedrigoni has also acquired Arjowiggins Group’s former R&D center in Grenoble, France. It strengthens its R&D capabilities for advanced research on paper substrates, as well as in the RFID and printed electronics categories. Fedrigoni says the deal will also enable it to bolster innovation for alternative pulp-based materials.

Fedrigoni purchased French label paper manufacturer Zuber Rieder at the tail end of last year, and also forged an industrial partnership with US-based Mohawk Fine Papers.