Amcor PET Packaging renamed Amcor Rigid Plastics

Global packaging supplier Amcor PET Packaging has been renamed Amcor Rigid Plastics.

According to an Amcor news release, the name change is meant to reflect an expansion of Amcor’s product offering following the recent US$1.9 billion acquisition of parts of Alcan Packaging by parent company Amcor Ltd.

The release also noted that Amcor Rigid Plastics consists of the former Amcor PET Packaging; Bericap North America, a plastic closures joint venture between Amcor and Bericap GmbH & Co. KG of Budenheim, Germany; and the plastics container unit of Alcan’s global pharmaceutical business.

Bill Long, the former president of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Amcor PET Packaging, will head up the new division.

The Alcan deal moves Amcor into new applications, materials, and processes, according to Shelley Steele, communications director for Amcor Rigid Plastics. “The new company combines two world-class businesses and provides Amcor with a highly valuable entry into the pharmaceutical market,” Steele said. “Overall, it enables Amcor to offer a wider range of products and deliver improved service due to a better geographic mix of manufacturing plants.”