Switzerland-based Ilapak, the maker of fill and seal packaging machinery is planning to build a production facility in North West Arkansas. The 80,000 sq ft facility will start operations in January 2016.
Ilapak's commercial vice president Guy Levy said, "We're proud to be investing and extending our manufacturing production further in the USA, and above all, that we will be able to serve our US customers better than ever before."
The plant at Arkansas will mark its launch in 2016 with the production of new range of Carrera flowrappers for Delta Systems.
Delta Systems manufactures primary product handling, feeding and wrapping systems for consumer products industry including the bakery segment.
Ilapak Group's marketing manager Christian Romuldi was quoted by FoodProductionDaily.com as saying: "We need to produce more machines here and it's important to serve the US market locally from the US. This investment allows us to produce machines from the Ilapak range at this factory. It is important for us to have 'a made-in the US' label for this market."
Romuldi said, "The facility will also house an R&D team focused on engineering for the North American market, a quick-response service centre and a customer innovation and demonstration area."
In 2008, Ilapak bought Delta Systems and Food Machinery Sales (FMS) under two operating divisions of Ilapak Holding USA.
In February this year, IMA signed an agreement with the shareholder of Transworld Packaging Holding (TWP), a holding company of the Ilapak Group, with regard to acquiring a further 30% share in TWP. This made IMA's ownership in Ilapak to 81%.
The remaining 19% share of TWP will be owned by IMA during 2017 or 2018 fiscal years.
