Australasia’s newest fibre packaging and paper company was launched on 1 May 2020 after Nippon Paper Industries confirmed it had successfully completed its $1.72 billion acquisition of the Orora Fibre Businesses that have been combined with Australian Paper to form Opal. Source: Timberbiz
Nippon Paper Industries and Paper Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Paper Industries, completed the purchase of Orora Limited’s paperboard and fibre-based packaging business in Australia/New Zealand.
The business is incorporated into a new trading entity, and together with Australian Paper, will form the “Opal” group of companies.
Opal will expand the packaging solution business from upstream (manufacturing/converting of renewable packaging products) to downstream (packaging-related materials and associated services) to customers in Oceania and the global market.
Nippon Paper Industries will appoint its director Mr Masanobu Iizuka as the CEO of Opal effective June 25, 2020.
Opal has more than 4500 employees spread over more than 80 sites and offices in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe and North America and is one of the largest and most diverse fibre packaging and paper companies in the region.
“Nippon Paper Industries is committing to a long term, strategically integrated approach to growth in the Australia and New Zealand packaging markets,” said Mr Tomo Koyanagi, Opal’s CEO.
“Especially with current challenges, Opal’s businesses will continue to support our customers by providing an essential service of supplying recyclable packaging for the Australian and New Zealand food and grocery supply chains. Products like Reflex from Opal Australian Paper are also vital to many businesses which rely on office paper to keep their operations running.”
Nippon Paper Industries is one of the world’s 10 largest paper and packaging companies and Opal is its largest investment outside of Japan. Opal is vertically integrated from base paper through to end packaging products and provides Nippon Paper with global scale in the converting of fibre packaging.
“Nippon Paper is focusing on packaging as one of its key strategic growth areas and Opal provides an ideal platform to secure a strong position in the Oceania region. By working closely with our customers, Opal will deliver innovative packaging solutions,” said Mr Koyanagi.
In addition to a comprehensive network of packaging converting operations, Opal operates the Botany Mill in Sydney which is Australia’s an advanced facility for recycled for brown packaging.
Opal Australian Paper’s Maryvale Mill, one of the largest employers in the Latrobe Valley, is part of the Opal Group. Opal’s head office will be in Melbourne, Australia.
As part of this change Australian Paper has a new website at https://opalanz.com/ where Australian Paper is listed as one of the company’s six divisions, Australian Paper has been renamed as Opal Australian Paper on the website but no mention was made of the change in other materials.
