ITASA acquires Akronn

With the acquisition, ITASA has reinforced its position in Asia, and extended its product range to film-based release liners.

Under the new name ITASA Asia, the Malaysian plant provides a full range of silicone coated materials, ranging from paper that includes glassine, CCK, MGBK to filmic liners including PET, PP and PE.

The newly acquired facility based in Nilai, just outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia houses a 2.3m-wide silicone coating line with integrated printing capability of up to two colors. This production line is capable of delivering a range of products using paper and film substrates, which can be printed and converted into slit rolls.

ITASA’s UV cured products are used in a wide variety of applications such as building and construction, electronics, composites, medical and adult care. This technology is also very well suited for the production of thermal linerless papers for labeling applications.

Olivier Lavaud, general manager of ITASA said: ‘The acquisition is a clear implementation of ITASA’s vision of becoming a global producer of release liners and supporting market leaders worldwide.’

As evidence of this strategy, the company experienced a 25 percent growth since 2013 and expects to reach over 80 million EUR by 2018. Sales are expected to grow by 10 percent in 2016. The company has premises in Spain, Mexico and Malaysia, with geographical expansion plans in America and Asia.

In recent years, ITASA has invested over 30 million EUR to acquire machinery and expand the company’s facilities. The company now has the ability to undertake high volume series at speeds of up to 1,000m/min on widths of up to 2.3m. Additionally, the current selection of machines offers the choice of undertaking short, personalized batches and applying special treatments.