The Sofidel Group, owned by the Stefani and Lazzareschi families has strengthened its position in the United States through three major operations. In total, the company has committed itself to invest over 300 million dollars in the US in three years between 2015 and 2017.
The Italian multinational company, together with the subsidiary Sofidel America, acquired from Green Bay Converting a processing plant in Green Bay (Wisconsin) and its related business, and a building in Mississippi.
The Italian group acquired from Green Bay Converting a processing plant that stretches over an area of 75,000 sqm and is located in Green Bay (Wisconsin), i.e. the main tissue producing area of the United States, which is rich in know-how and human resources and where Sofidel is already active with its own processing plant. It furthermore acquired a new industrial building in Hattiesburg (Mississippi), which will be transformed into a processing plant for a total area of over 37 000 sqm. All acquired assets have an overall annual production capacity of about 65 000 tons.
In the next few months two additional productive lines will be started at the Hattiesburg plant and production at Green Bay will be strengthened. At the same time of this transaction and repeating a strategy that had already been successfully applied to its growth and internationalisation process in Europe, Sofidel identified in Circleville (County Pickaway, Region of Columbus) an area for its greenfield investments in North America, although it is still waiting for the necessary authorizations and a favourable due diligence. This step is expected to further increase the company’s productive capacity. The Midwest has major cities and towns stretching over an area of few hundred kilometres and is a strategic logistic pole for the business players of the distribution sector.
Furthermore, Sofidel opened its new office in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) on the East Coast, which is one of the most densely populated areas in the country. The offices is expected to host the new headquarters of Sofidel America.
These acquisitions add on to the recent opening of a production plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma, dedicated to the production of line of AFH paper (industrial rolls of toilet and towelling paper) and two new dedicated lines for the private label sector. According to the Sofidel Group CEO Luigi Lazzareschi, «the American market is key for our group, as it ranks first in the world when it comes to per-capita consumption in the tissue sector. The Sofidel Group is currently present in seven States and our recent investments have helped us pave the way to further enhance our levels of service and increase the added value we offer to our customers».
The Sofidel Group has thus implemented its development and growth plan on the North-American market. After entering the US market in 2012 with the acquisition of assets in three States, the Sofidel Group is currently active in Nevada (Henderson), Oklahoma (Tulsa), Wisconsin (Green Bay), Mississippi (Hattiesburg), Ohio (Circleville), Florida (Haines City) and Pennsylvania (Philadelphia).