Pliant Corp. sets up JV with Russia’s Nova Roll

-- Converting Magazine, 7/14/2008

Flex-pack maker Pliant Corp. (www.pliantcorp.com) and Russia’s Nova Roll (www.pack.ru) will form a joint venture to produce films and packaging products. This business will be headquartered in Moscow and will convert PVC, machine-grade stretch, handwrap stretch, printed shrink-bundling, food-sealant and barrier films.

The materials will be sold in Russia and CIS countries through Pack and Service, and in the rest of Europe through Pliant GmbH.

“Our businesses continue to grow rapidly in Russia and the CIS. Partnering with Pliant further accelerates our business plans and expands our product portfolio,” says Vjacheslav Astashin, Nova Roll president/CEO.

Adds Harold Bevis, Pliant president/CEO, “The combination of our technologies and manufacturing know-how with the prestige and local commercial relationships of Nova Roll will allow us to become a market leader for these products in Russia, CIS and surrounding countries. The Russian market for packaging is large and growing, and our mutual goal is market leadership.”

Nova Roll is a large producer of adhesive tapes, stretch film and different types of bags in Russia with sales in excess of US$83 million. It has a 150,000-sq-ft plant and operates five blown- and two cast-extrusion film lines, nine flexographic-printing presses, seven slitters, three coating lines and 18 bag machines.