The AVK Group has acquired the Dutch sales company Q-Pall B.V. who, through an annual sale of more than 20,000 tonnes of plastic pallets and a turnover of approximately Euro 25 million, has proven to be one of the strongest, most sustainable companies within the fast-growing market of plastic pallets. The acquisition gives AVK direct access to sales and distribution and supports the growth strategy for the Group’s specialised business area “Advanced Manufacturing” in which the production of plastic components plays an important role.
”Over the years, AVK has built up a strong position as a manufacturer of a number of plastic products, including pallets and street covers. With the acquisition of the sales company Q-Pall and its customer base in a number of European countries and across several industrial sectors, we ensure valuable control with the sales stage and it is an important step towards realising our ambitions of growth within products based on recycled plastics”, Niels Aage Kjær, who leads the AVK Group, states.
“The acquisition of Q-Pall strengthens AVK’s green profile. Q-Pall is a fine example of a company whose entire business is based on sustainability. The company sells more than 20,000 tonnes of pallets a year which are manufactured by sub-suppliers and based 98% on recycled plastics, and the pallets are 100% recyclable. It is a clear-cut example that recycling of plastics has very great potential”, says Niels Aage Kjær who through the years has put sustainability and recycling high on the agenda in AVK, both for plastics and other raw materials.
Large-scale recycling of plastics and castings
Across the Group’s production companies, recycled plastics make up an impressive 94% of the 26,000 tonnes of plastics used every year by the Group in the production of mainly different kinds of pallets and for street coversthat are used for the installation of valves into the water and gas distribution grid. Also, the production of valves for the water, wastewater and gas sectors – the Group’s main business area is characterised by substantial recycling of materials. The AVK Group uses 50,000 tonnes of cast iron a year, and around 90% of these are from recycling, mainly scrap iron from the car industry.
AVK has been the main supplier to Q-Pall for years
”Q-Pall is not a new acquaintance to AVK – for years we have been the company’s main supplier of plastic pallets”, CFO Lars Kudsk reports.
He furthermore informs that the AVK plastic production, which consists mainly of advanced injection moulding, was initiated to manufacture plastic street covers which supplement the sale of AVK’s key product; valves for the water and gas sectors. The pallets were included as a product to make good use of spare capacity but have since grown to be a significant part of the complete plastic production. The plastic production is part of the AVK business area “Advanced Manufacturing” which also encompasses the Group’s companies within rubber and metal components. The business area has developed very positively in recent years under the management of chairman Knud Flemming Madsen and now makes up 15% of AVK’s Euro 800 million turnover.
“Plastic pallets are still only a small part of the pallet market. But given that plastic pallets can be made from collected household plastic waste, we expect the market to increase significantly in the coming years. Currently, large amounts of plastic waste are not recycled, and this causes both political and market demands for increased recycling of plastic waste. The amount of recycled plastics used by AVK in their production, corresponds to a fourth of the accumulated amount of collected household plastic waste in Denmark.
“With the acquisition of Q-Pall, the AVK Group will have a unified business within plastic pallets which will create synergies and be a good foundation for expanding our platform on the market through further geographical expansion”, Lars Kudsk stresses.
Facts about the AVK Group:
- World-leading manufacturer of valves for water and gas supply, wastewater handling and firefighting
- Annual turnover: just below Euro 800 million.
- Owns more than 100 companies across 35 countries.
- Employs approximately 4,500 people globally.
- Conducts business within three main business areas:
- AVK Water with development, production and branding of valves, hydrants and elements for water supply, gas supply, wastewater handing and firefighting.
- AVK Industrial with production of valve solutions for industrial water handling.
- AVK Advanced Manufacturing with development, production and branding of rubber, plastic and metal components for their own usage and for customers in the wind turbine industry as well as the transport and the food industry.
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