Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

“Duraco is an important addition to the protection and finishing products activity which has already grown to become Filtrona’s largest business,” said Filtrona CEO Mark Harper.

2006 was a good year for Filtrona, which posted a nine per cent increase in pre-tax profits, rising to £54.6m on the back of a six per cent gain in revenues, which were up to £544.2m for the full year.

Filtrona said that while Duraco, which posted pre-tax profits of £3.3m last year, was expected to become immediately earnings accretive for Filtrona, it did not forsee an immediate impact on its activities in the UK.

“The company is very US-centric, so we won’t be moving any production to the UK,” said Harper.

“But in the future we will be looking at the possibility of bringing Duraco products into the European marketplace via our Moss Plastic Parts business in Oxford.”

Details of plans to bring Duraco products to Europe are in the early stages, according to Harper, and as such would have no effect on staff numbers at Filtrona’s UK base.

Harper called the latest acquisition an “important strategic move for Filtrona,” which “fits exactly with Filtrona’s growth strategy of developing the company through a combination of organic development and acquisitions.”

He declined to embellish on the possibility of any further strategic investments planned by the business.

Filtrona has made extensive acquisitions during the last 10 years of trading.

It has diversified from its traditional market of cigarette filters and ink-delivery systems for pens into plastic technologies and self-adhesive tear tape through the purchase of firms in the Netherlands, Switzerland and two United States businesses.

Duraco manufactures and supplies self-adhesive foam products for protection and finishing applications in a broad array of served markets including point of purchase products and white goods.

Filtrona is a UK listed, speciality plastic and fibre products supplier.

It is headquartered in the UK, with 37 manufacturing facilities, 33 distribution outlets and sales offices and four research facilities spread across 23 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia, employing some 5,500 people across the world.