With retrospective effect from January 1, 2012, Coperion s.r.l., Italy, a subsidiary of Coperion GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany, has acquired the majority holding in Weicom s.r.l., Ferrara, Italy.

As a longstanding and well-established manufacturer in its market, Weicom specializes in weighing, packaging and palletizing technology and supplies to plastics compounders, food processors and minerals industry. Covering the entire spectrum of requirements, the Weicom portfolio comprises electronic weighers, FFS bagging machines, sack filling machines for open-mouth and valve sacks, filling systems for big bags, robot palletizers, pallet securing systems, conveying systems and all relevant after-sales services. Weicom’s FFS bagging machines, for example, are not only capable of an output of up to 2500 sacks per hour but also feature the highest degree of reliability and flexibility. Weicom specializes particularly in the development of complete turnkey systems that meet all the specific requirements of the customer from start to finish.

Through this latest acquisition, Coperion has now consistently strengthened its competence as a system supplier to the plastics industry. The Weicom portfolio completes Coperion’s process and value creation chain for the plastics producing and processing industries. Coperion and Weicom have for a long time been working together on numerous projects with successful results.

“For us at Coperion, this majority holding in Weicom represents a consistent and logical step towards strengthening our cooperation even more,” says Axel Kiefer, Member of the Executive Board of Coperion GmbH. “Our process chain has now been extended to include packaging and palletizing systems, enabling us to offer an even more complete system – all from one supplier. It also means that Coperion’s portfolio, which already comprises a multitude of technological solutions for the plastics industry, is now even larger than before. We also envisage a host of possible applications in the minerals industry and an enormous growth potential in markets outside these sectors.”

Speaking for Weicom, Francesco Bassi, representative of the shareholders, adds: “For us at Weicom, joining forces with Coperion was the right decision. We see in Coperion a strong partner who not only supports us in our plans for future growth but also offers us plenty of potential in terms of expertise and experience. We shall now be in a position, for example, to develop such markets as the USA, Russia, South-East Asia and Brazil, as Coperion’s excellent network and worldwide presence provide the ideal prerequisites. We shall also be able to jointly expand after-sales support for our products.”

For more information, visit www.coperion.com.