GUALA CLOSURES INAUGURATES THE NEW PLANT IN MAGENTA (MI) WITH THE MOST MODERN SERVICES CENTRE IN THE WORLD FOR THE PROCESSING OF ALUMINIUM FOR PACKAGING

With the attendance of the Health Minister, Renato Balduzzi and the Chairman of Confindustria, Giorgio Squinzi

Centralised processing of the aluminium used in Guala Closures worldwide
Possibility to transform up to 25,000 tonnes of aluminium for the production of 7.5 billion beverage closures per year
The first sustainability report issued with objectives for up to 2015
Total investment of € 18 million and 64 resources employed



Today, with the attendance of the Health Minister, Renato Balduzzi, the Chairman of Confindustria Giorgio Squinzi, the Mayor of Magenta, Marco Invernizzi and the Deputy Chairman of Unicredit, Fabrizio Palenzona, the extension of the Magenta (MI) plant of the Guala Closures Group, the Italian multinational world leader in the production of closures for spirits, wine, soft drinks, oil-vinegar and pharmaceutical products, was inaugurated.





The Group, which recorded a turnover of € 418 million in 2011 and operates globally in 16 countries through 25 production plants, decided to invest in Italy by adding a new production unit to an existing plant in Magenta (MI) to centralise the processing of the aluminium used by all Guala Closures plants worldwide that produce closures for wine, spirits, oil and vinegar, including Argentina, Australia, China, Great Britain, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, the Ukraine and the two Italian plants in Torre d’Isola and Termoli.





The overall investment for the Magenta plant, which employs 64 resources, was € 18 million. After a start-up phase of a few months, the Guala Closures Group expects to hire additional workers when the plant is fully operational and production capacity can be increased.





“I am particularly proud today to be inaugurating a centre of excellence in Italy - stated Marco Giovannini, newly appointedCavaliere del Lavoro(Captain of Industry, the highest honours awarded in industry) Chairman and Managing Director of the Guala Closures Group – which also bears witness to the courage to invest in a totally new technology, unique in the packaging sector. An important sign, above all in a historic period of such great difficulty for business in Italy. The new plant in Magenta – added Giovannini – is a flagship in aluminium processing, which will enable the Group to achieve higher production efficiency and to guarantee customers products of the highest quality in terms of respecting the environment”.



When fully operational, the new Magenta plant will transform up to 25,000 tonnes of aluminium sheet for the estimated production of around 7.5 billion beverage closures per year (the Group produces 12 billion closures in total per year) and 1 billion other closures that have metal components. Furthermore, the plant is able to treat the surface and degrease the aluminium before it is processed and pressed, without the use of chromium, and is equipped with a system to recover the acids used in the degreasing phase able to neutralise and transform them into water, significantly reducing special waste.





In addition to the aluminium processing plant, the facility in Magenta will also be used for the decoration of the metal sheets and boasts a machine for lithography that uses a technology for drying through UV rays, and can decorate in up to six colours simultaneously, with high precision in the design of the customer’s brand name and avoiding the emission of solvents into the atmosphere. A cutting-edge plant, therefore, which represents an important milestone in terms of environmental sustainability and a forerunner for any future legislation in environmental protection.



The new investment made in the Magenta plant is a clear demonstration of the eco-responsible commitment of the Guala Closures Group which, on the occasion of the inauguration, presented its first sustainability report for 2011, which provides information based on 12 strategic indicators relating to the environment, health and safety and production efficiency as well as describing the Groups medium-term objectives in a transparent and unambiguous way to its stakeholders, starting with its employees. The report refers to the Italian production sites of Guala Closures and will gradually be extended to the Group worldwide. The document will be published annually with a view to illustrating the results actually achieved.





The following table summarises the indicators and the objectives of the Guala Closures Group for sustainable development.





Scope of reference Italy



 

INDICATORS AND OBJECTIVES