20 Spray March 2019
sunscreen, due to the ban
of octinoxate and oxybenzone
in Hawaii in 2017,
among others,” continued
Mercer.
“In addition to that,
there is a global shortage of sun care actives, which provides a huge
challenge to sun care brands for the 2019 Sun Care season. This
means prices are rising in this area and cost of manufacturing are
likely to go up as well. However, we want to continue to offer our
clients an unprecedented level of excellence in quality and customer
service, while maintaining cost effectiveness in our processes.”
International fillers stand out…
Outside the U.S., aerosol paints producer DPI Holdings Bhd,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, acquired a new, fully-automated aerosol
filling line worth RM450,000 ($110,338) for its existing plant,
which will increase its production capacity to meet rising demand.
DPI Executive Chairman & Managing Director Peter Chai said
the new aerosol filling line is part of the planned upgrade in the
company’s existing factory, where it is enhancing its three semiautomated
filling lines to become fully automated, to achieve faster
output and higher capacity.
“The other two semi-automated lines are targeted to be upgraded
and installed in the following 24 months,” Chai said. “At
the same time, we are intensifying our advertising and social media
marketing plans to have a wider reach to potential customers.”
The company also intends to construct a new factory with four
new fully-automated aerosol filling lines adjacent to its existing
plant. Barring unforeseen circumstances, DPI said production in
the new factory is set to commence in the first half of 2020.
LMA Services—formulator, designer, filler and manufacturer of
aerosol products for a range of sectors including the veterinary, automotive,
janitorial and industrial industries— installed a side feed
sleeve wrapper and shrink tunnel in its Pocklington, UK-based factory
in 2018. The new shrink wrapping line, consisting of an SVA
60-35 side feed sleeve wrapper and TR 65/100 shrink tunnel was
supplied by Yorkshire Packaging Systems Ltd. (YPS).
According to the company, the introduction of shrink wrapping
has been successful for LMA, as the packaging on its aerosols is
now tamper-evident, waterproof and compact.
“We were impressed with YPS’s technical competence and
knowledge in providing a British Aerosol Manufacturers Association
(BAMA)-compliant solution for packaging our aerosols,” said
Brian Martin, LMA Commercial Manager.
James Briggs
Limited (JBL),
which was founded
in 1830 and is
based in Oldham,
UK, announced a
£8.5 million ($11
million) funding
deal with Close
Brothers. Endless,
which has
backed the business
since 2013,
will continue to have a majority stake, while management will also
take a significant shareholding in the business.
CEO Paul Blackaby said the business, which employs 274
people, has been through a major turnaround over the last few
years and is now on a firm financial footing.
“The new capital structure and deal with Close Brothers was an
important milestone as the company enters a new era,” explained
Blackaby.
“We strongly believe that we are now set for the future. While
it’s impossible to predict precisely what will happen after the UK
leaves the EU, this new deal means we can withstand the risks
associated with Brexit and that we are prepared for whatever a post-
Brexit era Britain might look like.”
JBL, which was recently named “Filler of the Year” by longstanding
customer The WD-40 Co., currently manufactures 60
million aerosols a year. Additionally, its Action Paint was named
“Aerosol of the Year” at the 2018 BAMA annual awards.
Leicestershire, UK-based Reabrook Ltd, formulator, manufacturer
and contract filler of aerosol and liquid products for private
label customers, celebrated three landmark achievements in 2018
at its site in Moira, UK—it celebrated 50 years of business, opened
a factory extension with brand-new aerosol line and transferred to
Employee Ownership.
Joint Managing Director of Reabrook, Tony Brealey, told www.
eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk, “We firmly believe that empowered
and engaged employees, who care deeply about the products they
make, are vital to a company’s ongoing success. Employee Ownership
is the perfect way to reward our loyal staff and to secure the
long-term future of the Moira site.”
Malcolm Watkins, Joint Managing Director, explained that
employee ownership was in harmony with Reabrook’s core philosophies
about how business should be managed—encouraging
and building a workforce that takes pride in what it does and is
responsive to its customers’ needs.
HSBC UK provided the finance to purchase the new £1.3m ($1.71
million) aerosol production line and also a £1m ($1.316 million) loan
to enable the transition to employee ownership to take place.
In 2018, Automobil Chemicals Ltd. (Automobil Vegyi Kft),
Szeged, Hungary launched an air conditioning cleaning aerosol
with a tube. The product can be used on air conditioning components
for car, household and ductless split systems.
Contract filler Swallowfield plc, Wellington, UK, acquired
men’s grooming brand Fish London Ltd., a London-based
company linked to the original Fish salon in D’Arblay Street, for
£2.7million ($3.7 million) from KMI Brands Ltd. The acquisition
followed Swallowfield’s recent purchases of Real Shaving Co. in
2015 and The Brand Architekts in 2016.
Aryum Aerosol Cans Ltd., Istanbul, Turkey, recently established
a new aerosol filling facility and looks forward to expanding
across the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
McBride, Hull, UK, manufacturer of aerosol products for
cleaning and toiletry brands, announced a plan to cease aerosol
manufacturing in the UK, shuttering its Hull plant by spring of
2019 with a loss of 117 jobs. McBride reported its European Personal
Care & Aerosols (PCA) business had deteriorated financially
in the past few years and the aerosols business has specifically
experienced extreme margin pressures and operating losses for the
year ended June 30, 2018.
Personnel highlights…
Fillers were on the move this past year, as
Aerofil Technology, Inc., an HBM Holdings
company, Sullivan, MO, appointed Daniel
Wright as CEO. Wright previously served as
President & COO of Aerofil Technology,
and before that, VP of HBM’s corporate
development. Wright succeeded Aerofil’s
co-founder Bob Dunaway who retired after
Expansion,
Acquisition
& Safety…
Paul Blackaby of James Briggs Ltd.
Wright