Clariant to acquire Chinese healthcare packaging specialist VitaPac

In a bid to boost its presence in Asia, specialty chemical maker Clariant is purchasing VitaPac, a Chinese specialist for healthcare packaging.

The owner-led company with 80 employees is based in Hong Kong with a production site in Dongguan, China.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the fourth quarter of 2014. Terms of the deal have not been announced.

VitaPac, founded in 1995, develops and manufactures a full range of high quality protective packaging solutions for the pharmaceutical, neutraceutical and food industries, as well as for the logistics and electronics sectors, mainly in the region of Asia-Pacific (APAC).

The agreement will help Clariant to gain increased market share in important emerging markets especially in Asia but also to capture further sales in other regions, Swiss-based Clariant said in a statement. “The acquisition of VitaPac is in line with our strategy to grow profitably by investing in new technologies and new markets,” said Hariolf Kottmann, Clariant’s CEO. “It will enable us to enhance Clariant’s existing portfolio of packaging solutions with new innovative products from the active packaging area, helping us to further develop our positioning in the medical specialties market.”