Albéa invests in $14 million Suzhou cosmetics packaging plant

According to the France-based company, the 30,000-square-meter facility will be the only Albéa site to date to house its’ complete scope of expertise, particularly mascara packaging and dispensing systems, each with a dedicated building.

This will include tubes, cosmetic rigid packaging for items such as mascaras, lipgloss, compacts and bottles and dispensing systems.

According to company reps, the $14 million project was “built to a challenging 15-month schedule to optimize Albéa’s industrial footprint in China following its acquisition of Rexam Personal Care in January 2013."​

Albéa currently has four other factories in China, located in Zhongshan, Shenzhen and Shanghai,  each focused on excellence in packaging.

An affiliate of U.S. based private investment firm Sun Capital Partners, Albéa operates 38 manufacturing facilities in Europe, Asia and the Americas with a total workforce of 16,600. Its 2013 global sales totalled $1.5 billion.

Expand, expand, expand ​

Back in May 2013, the sale of Rexam Personal Care to Sun Capital Partners was approved by the Chinese authorities for $459 million (€347m), allowing the French packaging company to expand its market share in cosmetics.

The news was originally announced in 2012 in a Cosmetics Design exclusive that revealed that Albéa was looking to expand its portfolio and global footprint with the move.

The combined businesses will build on both companies’ market position and create a leading packaging group with a global platform.

“The new platform would give significant opportunities to deliver extended customer solutions. Customers would benefit from the complementary market knowledge, the innovation capabilities and the technical know-how,”​ an Albéa spokesperson told this publication at the time.