European plastic pallet providers merge

   The holding company of CABKA North America Inc., CABKA GmbH in Germany, and Belgium-based IPS – Innova Packaging Systems NV will merge under the newly formed CABKA Group.
   Until a joint brand is announced, the CABKA and IPS labels will remain intact, the companies said.
   CABKA and IPS together will become a broad-based provider of plastic pallets, boxes and pallet boxes. CABKA has traditionally focused on inexpensive one-way pallets for export, while IPS concentrates on higher-priced multi-use pallets.
   “We want to organically grow together by way of a strong range and continuous innovation-based expansion,” said Gat Ramon, director and management spokesman of the new CABKA Group. “For example, we are going to set up a production line complete with recycling plant for mixed plastics in the vicinity of Ypres (Belgium).”
   CABKA has a strong presence in Germany (Weira and Berlin), North America (St. Louis) and Spain (Valencia), while IPS in Ypres serves the Benelux countries, as well as the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Spain (Zaragoza).
   The new company group will have about 390 employees, of which two thirds will come from CABKA and one third from IPS. No changes to the overall employee count are planned, the companies said.