Graham Packaging Europe, a subsidiary of Graham Packaging Holdings Co., signed an agreement transferring ownership of a blow-molding operation in Blyes, France, to ARCC Holdings BV, a subsidiary of Business Creation Holdings BV, a redevelopment and investment company based in the Netherlands.
The transfer is part of Graham Packaging's ongoing restructuring process in Europe involving the opening of several new plants and the closing or sale of others.
Ashok Sudan, senior vice president with responsibility for Graham Packaging Europe, and Bas Welles, managing director of Business Creation Holdings, said ARCC Holdings would continue blow-molding activity at the plant, establish a new plastics recycling project there, and continue to employ 80 of the existing workers. Graham Packaging had operated the facility since the early 1990s.
"We are very pleased with the outcome of the arrangement with Business Creation Holdings, especially the fact that we're able to save the majority of jobs at Blyes," Sudan said. Graham Packaging will provide technical assistance to ARCC Holdings BV for 18 months.
As part of its European restructuring, Graham Packaging is refocusing its efforts on key strategic customers with which it has on-site manufacturing operations that use the most competitive technology. The company announced the closure of a plant in the United Kingdom in January and the sale of two facilities in Italy in March. It announced the opening of a major new on-site facility with the Danone Group in Aldaia, Spain, in June. It also opened a new plant in Poland and expanded a plant in Belgium recently.
Graham, based in York, Pa., designs and makes customized blow-molded plastic containers for branded food and beverage products, household and personal care products, and automotive lubricants.