CCL Industries merges European and Asian Label businesses with Steinbeis

CCL Industries is to merge its European and Asian label operations with Steinbeis Packaging, the label operations of Steinbeis Holding. Steinbeis Packaging, based in Holzkirchen, Germany supplies battery labels on a global basis and provides premium product decoration solutions for the European consumer products market.
CCL will hold a significant controlling interest in the new company and contribute its label operations in the U.K., France, Denmark, Thailand and The Netherlands as well as its new greenfield site currently being established in Poland. CCL-Pachem, CCL’s 51 per cent controlled joint venture with plants in Austria, France and the U.K., will
become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the venture with its founders Guenther Birkner and Thomas Summer taking leading roles in the new company.

Steinbeis will contribute the value of its operations in Germany, France, the U.S.A. and China to the new venture. However, the Steinbeis battery label plant in the U.S.A., with revenues of approximately Cdn $25 million, will subsequently become a wholly owned subsidiary of CCL Label Inc. in the United States.
The new company will focus on continuing to build a network of European and Asian label manufacturing facilities dedicated to serving large global customers in the consumer products, healthcare and premium food and beverage markets. This will include capital investments of Cdn $15 million to build new factories in the fast growing
markets of Eastern Europe and China.

Geoff Martin, President of CCL Label will assume the role of CEO in addition to his North American responsibilities. Sales of the new venture in Europe and Asia are approximately Cdn $325 million with 2004 EBITDA estimated at approximately Cdn $40 million, making it the largest label converting group in the European and Asian
markets.

Donald G. Lang, President and CEO of CCL Industries commented, ‘We are very pleased to continue building our global position in the highly fragmented label industry.
Through our pooling of interests, this transaction accelerates CCL's label strategy and will give the new company the financial strength to continue investing, while bringing to us one of the most respected label businesses in Europe as our partner. We look forward to a long association with the Steinbeis family and their contributions to our
new venture.’