Amut SpA (Novara, Italy), which builds extruders, packaging thermoforming machines and plastics recycling equipment, has acquired Dolci Bielloni, a fellow Italian company specialized in packaging equipment, which henceforth will be known as Amut Dolci Bielloni.

"Unity is synergy" was how Mauro Drappo, CEO of the Amut group, characterized the move. "Now two historical companies, Amut and Dolci Bielloni, can create significant synergies together and become a major player on international markets," he added.

The companies have a good strategic fit. As a result of the acquisition, a solid Italian hub with a robust production and financial organization has been established that is well able to compete on an international level. Dolci Bielloni manufactures printing and slitting rewinding machines, blown and cast films for different types of multilayer film, and coating and laminating lines. The company's film lines—cast and blown for flexible films—produce a range of products comprising stretch film, silage, barrier, technical, medical, diapers and masking. Amut Group is a producer of lines delivering rigid products such as foils, sheets, pipes, profiles and thermoforming items.

"We believe that this merger represents the completion of a process we began in 2011 with the entrance of Fondo Italiano di Investimento (an investment fund) into our shareholder structure to allow Amut to grow through external mergers and gain a more important stature. This process then continued with the Amut-Comi merger in the field of thermoforming and Amut-Ecotech in recycling," Drappo explained.

"We constantly work to be considered by our customers as a sole partner, being able to offer the most complete range of machines for the plastics extrusion, thermoforming and recycling fields," he added.

Flexing its new muscle, Amut Group will be exhibiting at a number of trade shows over the next few months: NPE 2015 (booth W-8371) on March 23 to 27 in Orlando, FL; Plast (hall 15, stand D65) in Milan from May 5 to 9; and Chinaplas in Guangzhou, May 20 to 23.

During the Plast show, an open house will be organized at the historic Dolci Bielloni plant in Biassono; a shuttle bus service will run to and from the fairgrounds. Two stretch film lines will be running, one of which will be producing hand and automatic rolls (2000 mm; seven layers) with the other producing jumbo rolls (1500 mm; five layers). The 2000-mm-film line especially is highly innovative, with six extruders to guarantee a flexible production and unique design capable of satisfying the main trend in the current stretch film market: a thinner but stronger film to obtain a super-power stretch film. In spite of their small dimensions, the extruders are able to deliver high production volumes and excellent energy savings.