It’s goodbye to Nampak Liquid Plastics and … hulo to BESTPAK

NAMPAK Liquid Plastics, virtually the last man standing in the once mighty Nampak Plastics business, has been purchased as a going concern by investment business Vernotone and renamed Bestpak.

Vernotone is controlled by SLA Capital, also the owner of Oasis Water Holdings.

Liquid Plastics produces HDPE and PET bottles and jars and, since the 1990s and before, has been a leader in the FMCG containers market. Nampak Liquids was the first to introduce PET containers in South Africa in the mid-80s.

The purchase by SLA is understood to include the Nampak Liquid Plastics plants in Epping, Cape Town, the Nampak Gaborone plant in Botswana, and three in-plant factories, at Clayville near Midrand (for Clover), Orange Grove Dairy near Dundee in KZN and, Vredendal in the Western Cape.

The main casualty along the way appears to be the Nampak Liquids plants in Isando and Westmead; equipment from these plants is presently being auctioned.

Liquid Plastics has shrunk since its glory days in the 80s and 90s when it was a leader and trendsetter in the SA plastic containers market.

 

Implosion
In the last few years, the implosion of the Nampak plastics business has caused consternation. How the once-leading business reached this point has surprised and troubled many. Even though some of the Nampak plastics businesses have been running profitably, the Nampak group has sold off entities and equipment to service its massive debt, estimated at R2,6 billion, while it focuses only on the metal cans business where it leads SA manufacturing.

In 2023, as part of this initiative, most of the machinery at Nampak Rigids and Megapak, the group’s injection moulding business, was sold off, plants were shut down, and personnel were retrenched. In a separate transaction, Nampak Drums in Westmead (which may also have been part of Nampak Liquid Plastics) was purchased by Mauser Packaging Solutions, which is the patent holder of the ‘L-ring’ drum technology. Mauser also operates in Westmead. Then, earlier this year, the Nampak Closures business in Mobeni in Durban was sold to German-based Bericap, leaving only the Nampak Liquid Plastics operations. The only remaining entity of the once-vast Nampak Plastics business appears to be Nampak Tubes in Jet Park in Joburg, which has not yet attracted a buyer.

 

Entry of SLA
On 1 August, SLA Capital/Vernotone’s agreement to purchase Nampak Liquid Plastics saved the business.

Bestpak has some specific advantages, notably that SLA brings a private equity mentality to the equation and will focus on improving and growing the business. It should also be a relief for staff, many of whom may have been worrying about retrenchment. It’s understood that Bestpak achieved agreements with the Competition Commission (whose approval was required for the deal to go through) that it would not be able to guarantee continued employment for all the staff of Nampak Liquid Plastics.

 

Nampak Liquid assets to be auctioned off

PARK Village Auctions of Johannesburg has been mandated by Vernotone t/a Bestpak to dispose of assets from the Nampak Liquid Plastics sites in Isando, Westmead and Epping by auction. The assets include SIPA, Husky, Sidel, Uniloy, Nissei ASB and Hesta machines, moulds, a full toolroom setup (in Isando) as well as, disappointingly, various scrap and redundant blow moulding machines at Epping.

 

Interested parties should visit www.parkvillageauctions.co.za