| RPC Group | |
| Type: | Public |
| Foundation: | 1988 as Reedpack Containers 1991 as RPC Containers |
| Location: | Rushden, Northamptonshire |
| Key People: | Jamie Pike, ChairmanPim Vervaat, Chief Executive |
| Industry: | Plastic Products (Packaging & Non-Packaging) |
| Revenue: | £3,747.7 million (2018)[1] |
| Operating Income: | £425.0 million (2018) |
| Net Income: | £253.8 million (2018) |
| Num Employees: | 24,295 (2018) |
| Homepage: | www.rpc-group.com |
RPC Group plc is based in the United Kingdom, and is one of Europe's largest supplier of plastic packaging.[2] Its headquarters are in Rushden in Northamptonshire. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Berry Global Group Inc.
The company's origins lie in a plastic packaging production unit at Oakham established by a Danish group, Superfos, in 1973.[3] The plant was acquired by Reed International in 1983 and was the subject of a management buyout as Reedpack Containers in 1988, but was then bought by Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget in 1990.[3] The business was then the subject of a management buyout from Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget in 1991.[4] It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1993.[4] It went on to buy Continental Plastics Europe, with 12 sites across Europe, in 1997[4] and Wiko, an injection moulding business based in Germany, in July 2000.[5] In December 2010 it bought Superfos Industries, its former parent, for about €240 million (£203 million).[6]
In December 2013 the company acquired Maynard & Harris Plastics, a manufacturer of rigid plastic packaging, for £103.5 million[7] and in May 2014 it bought Ace Corporation Holdings, a Chinese injection moulder, for up to $430 million.[8] It then bought Promens, with 50 plants internationally, in a €386 million (£306 million) deal in December 2014.[9] For 2016, the company earned £2.75 billion, a two-thirds jump in revenue from the year before after a series of acquisitions. Among those acquisitions were the bottle-top maker GCS in France and British Polythene Industries.[10] In March 2016 the company bought French bottle-top maker Global Closure Systems for €650 million (£468.7 million) to strengthen its position in Europe's plastic packaging market[11] and in August 2016 the company bought British Polythene Industries for £261 million.[12] It went on to buy Letica, an American business, for $640 million in February 2017.[13] As of June 2017, Pim Vervaat served as chief executive. Since December 2015, RPC had completed 11 acquisitions.[10]
The company announced in March 2019 that it had agreed to be taken over by Berry Global Group Inc.[14]
The company makes a wide variety of plastic food-packaging products including Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Nivea, L'Oréal, Saxa, Jacob's, McVitie's and Hubba Bubba.[6]