Inoac and Cheer Key

Inoac Packaging Group, Bardstown, KY, has formed a joint venture with Cheer Key, Guangdong, China. Cheer Key will manufacture cosmetic compacts and closures for bottles and jars, allowing Inoac to offer complete cosmetic bottle and jar packages. Cheer Key has 30 injection-molding machines and offers general molding, UV clear coat, assembly, hot stamping, silk screening, vacuum metalizing and electro-plating. Also, Inoac now provides foam sponges and a wider selection of stock bottles and compacts. More info: www.inoac usa.com.

Tube Council’s Spring
Conference Set for April
l The Tube Council, Montclair, NJ, will hold its 2003 Spring Conference April 30 to May 3 at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, Lake Buena Vista, FL. There will be a series of technical presentations, new member presentations, committee reports, awards and keynote speakers addressing legal and marketing issues facing the collapsible, squeezable tube industry. There are also social and networking opportunities. More info: (973) 744-4551; Fax: (973) 744-5568; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: www.tube.org.

Techpack To Use
Nexivisions’ 3-D Images
l Techpack, a division of Pechiney, and Nexivisions, a three-dimensional volumetric lenticular imaging company, have teamed up to allow Techpack to develop high quality, multidimensional products such as optical illusions. Images, which are printed on a paper-thin lenticular substrate, can be created for compacts, powder boxes and more, according to executives.
More info: www.techpack.com or www.nexivisions.com.
Silgan Buys Thatcher and
Amcor White Cap LLC
l Effective Jan. 1, Silgan Holdings Inc., Stamford, CT, acquired the assets of Thatcher Tubes LLC, a privately-held manufacturer and marketer of decorated plastic tubes serving primarily the personal care industry. The purchase price for the assets, including additional production capacity recently in-stalled and currently being installed, was reported to be $32 million.
Thatcher Tubes operates manufacturing facilities in Woodstock, IL, and Culiacan, Mexico and had sales of approximately $29 million in 2002.
Executives said that with Silgan Plastics’ leadership position in plastic containers for the personal care market, this acquisition provides opportunities for growth through an expanded product offering.
Silgan has also completed the acquisition of the remaining 65% equity interest of Amcor White Cap LLC, a Chicago-based metal and plastic closures manufacturer, which had been established as a joint venture. Silgan paid $37.1 million for the remaining 65% equity interest and refinanced approximately $90 million of debt of the business. The business will now operate as Silgan Closures.