Ciparo Acquires International Recycling Ltd.

Ciparo BV, based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, has agreed to acquire International Recycling Ltd. (IRL), based in Norwich, U.K. The deal, completed in January 2011, gives Ciparo a strong foothold in the U.K. market. In a release announcing the deal, IRL, which targets paper and plastics, says that it is one of the largest independent recyclers in the United Kingdom.

IRL focuses much of its efforts on the handling of bulk grades of recovered fiber such as old corrugated containers and mixed paper. The company’s Benjamin Kleiweg de Zwaan says that over the past several years IRL has been working closely with Ciparo to ship significant amounts of recyclables to China.

While Ciparo and IRL have been trading recovered paper and plastics together for more than 10 years, over the past few years the relationship between the two companies has grown stronger. Joris de Caluwe, Ciparo’s director and co-founder, says, “After the increased cooperation, it was a logical next step that Ciparo should acquire IRL. We see that the paper and plastics market is changing. Competition is growing, and bundling our strengths is the right way forward.”

Ciparo has five offices in China. They are located in Beijing, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The company also recently expanded into Vietnam with the opening of offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh.

The acquisition of IRL includes a significant stake in IRL’s sister company, Australian Resource Management, which specializes in harvesting and exporting Australian forestry products to China.