The beauty industry in South America is growing terrifically, with new local companies popping up and international brands, suppliers, packagers and manufacturers moving in.
And a new Pan-Andean packaging conglomerate is aiming to be the go-to container corporation for innovative personal care ventures in the region as well as to serve its existing clients better.
With powers combined
Regional growth was a logical next step for the companies involved in the venture. "Based on our clients' needs and requests we had contemplated expanding into Colombia for the past several years and this merger finally achieves this in the most effective way possible. One of our main objectives is to bring more innovation across our product platforms," says Renato Pierinelli, founder and former CEO of Pieriplast.
Pieriplast supplies custom packaging to direct sales beauty business in the region and was formally acquired last week by ACON Investments LLC. ACON, a Washington DC–based private equity group, also purchased Intecplast SAS last week, a manufacturer of rigid plastic personal care packaging.
Aggregated under ACON’s management, Pieriplast and Intecplast become Amfora.
Restructuring
"We are proud to unite our companies,” remarks Jose Alejandro Arango, former CEO of Intecplast and incoming CEO of Amfora.The new conglomerate comprises over 800 employees working in the pan-Andean region.
“These transactions and the merger of Intecplast and Pieriplast will benefit our customers since we will be the only 'one-stop shop' alternative for customers with industry leading service and quality products including a dedicated senior team focused on innovation," Arango says.
Pierinelli, the founder and former CEO of Pieriplast, will serve as chief Technical Officer for Amfora as well as chairman of the board. In doing so, he retains a significant equity stake.
Bottled up
Pieriplast built its business by supplying direct-sales beauty brands with containers for mascara, lipstick, and powder as well as with perfume bottle caps and jars. In advance of the Amfora announcement, the company served customers in Peru, Columbia, Ecuador, Mexico and Brazil.
Intecplast worked with multinational personal care companies and with top Columbian and regional customers. The company specialized in injection, blow molding, injection stretch blow molding and injection blow molding techniques.