Plastics regeneration: Hera Group acquires 70% of Kronos Polymer Polska

This transaction contributes to the execution of the strategy aimed at doubling the capacity of its subsidiary Aliplast to over 210,000 tonnes per year of high-quality recycled plastic raw materials, consolidating its leadership in the sector in Europe. The acquisition will be finalised by the end of 2026.

The Hera Group, one of Italy’s largest multi-utilities, is further strengthening its leadership in waste management, particularly in high-quality plastics recycling, thanks to the binding agreement entered into today by its Polish subsidiary Aliplast Polska to acquire 70% of Kronos Polymer Polska, a new company that will be formed by spin-off from Kronos Polymer, a Polish operator active in the recycling and processing of polyethylene (PE).

Specifically, Kronos Polymer operates at a newly built industrial site – completed at the end of 2022 and operational from the first quarter of 2023 – located in Gniew (Pomerania, Poland), about 300 kilometres from Aliplast Polska’s branch in Tuszyn. The newco involved in the transaction will receive a plant equipped with a complete polyethylene sorting, grinding and washing line, with an installed production capacity of 12,000 tonnes per year. This will allow Aliplast to progressively expand also in the local market, carrying out recycling and regeneration directly on site, thereby optimising flows and logistics.

Thanks to this transaction and other projects currently underway – such as the rigid plastics recycling plant in Modena and the new PE-LD recycling plant in Borgolavezzaro (Novara) – the industrial synergies already existing within the Hera Group will be further strengthened, and the subsidiary Aliplast will be able to increase its recycling flexibility, doubling its capacity to over 210,000 tonnes per year.

In line with the multi-utility’s Business Plan to 2029, Aliplast is continuing the path that has characterised it in recent years: expansion of production capacity, including in foreign markets; an increasing focus on the quality and traceability of recycled material; and targeted expertise to provide a concrete response to the needs of the European market, also leveraging its already consolidated presence in countries such as France and Spain.

For a company with deep roots in Poland such as Kronos Polymer, the partnership with Aliplast and, more generally, with the Hera Group represents a major opportunity to further develop its industrial experience and advanced know-how.

The acquisition of 70% of Kronos Polymer Polska by the Hera Group, through Aliplast Polska, is subject to certain standard conditions precedent (including the completion of the aforementioned demerger and the transfer of environmental permits), the fulfilment of which for the purposes of finalising the transaction is expected by the end of 2026.

“This transaction will enable us to further expand Aliplast’s production capacity, in line with the Hera Group’s strategy, which sees resource regeneration as a fundamental pillar,” commented Michele Petrone, Chief Executive Officer of Aliplast. “The launch of the process that will lead to the acquisition of the majority stake in the newco Kronos Polymer Polska is also in line with the parent company’s Business Plan, which provides for continued growth in the waste services value chain by expanding the reference markets. Strengthening our presence in Poland, where Aliplast’s branch has been operating for some time, will in fact allow us to intercept the promising growth in demand for recycled plastic in this country.”

To learn more: