Nexus Circular secures US$150M to expand its advanced recycling process

US – Polyolefins producers Nexus Circular has raised US$150 million in seed funding to expedite the growth of advanced recycling solutions for plastics.

The funding round was led by Cox Enterprises, a private broadband company based in Atlanta, Georgia, becoming the majority owner.

Nexus will use the funds to fulfill recycled-plastic commitments by accelerating the development of its advanced recycling methods.

The company plans to build more facilities to address the growing demand for recycled plastic products.

These facilities will have a total annual processing capacity of more than 250 million pounds of used plastic.

Nexus Circular CEO Jodie Morgan said: “With this funding, our team and partners can more rapidly execute the next phase of growth, accelerating the circular economy for plastics.”

Based in Atlanta, Nexus manufactures and sells high-quality circular products certified according to ISCC PLUS standards.

The company uses landfill-bound plastics to make its products, which are claimed to have diverted more than seven million pounds of waste to date.

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Smurfit Kappa invests US$6.54M in solar panels at its Spanish mill

SPAIN – Irish corrugated company, Smurfit Kappa has invested US$6.54 million (€6m) at its Sanguesa paper mill in Spain, which will see the construction and installation of up to 12,000 solar panels on land adjacent to the mill.

Smurfit Kappa says that solar panels will reduce CO2 emissions by over 3200 tonnes annually and provide significant cost savings.

Once operational, it is estimated that the panels will generate more than 10 GWh of power annually which will

Phatisa acquires minority stake in subSaharan African print and packaging firm MHL International

reduce the current external electricity consumption and dependency by 7%.

The Spanish solar energy project is the latest for Smurfit Kappa which has launched similar initiatives in other plants in Spain, Colombia and Mexico to generate sustainable energy.

The mill at Sanguesa is one of Smurfit Kappa’s key facilities that produce light MG kraft paper, a packaging solution widely used across industrial and consumer markets in products such as grocery bags and wrapping paper. Its customer base includes some of Europe’s largest brands.

AFRICA – Sub-Saharan private equity investor, Phatisa, has acquired a significant minority stake in MHL International Holdings Limited (“MHL”), a printing and packaging provider with strong exposure to the food and beverage sector.

MHL is a subsidiary of The Manipal Group, an India-based conglomerate with interests in printing and technology, which operates in SubSaharan Africa through subsidiaries in Kenya and Nigeria.

Manipal’s range of products cut across flexible packaging and selfadhesive labels and support a wide variety of industries, including the food, beverage and agriculture sectors.

The investment will mostly be used as expansion capital and is the fifth investment in Phatisa Food Fund 2.

Wilfrid Korsaga, Partner at Phatisa, said: “In partnership with The Manipal Group, our expansion capital aims to support the consolidation of MHL’s current market position, whilst facilitating product and geographic expansion to serve the growing printing and packaging sector in Africa.”

MHL plays a pivotal role in the East and West African region, producing a wide variety of self-adhesive labels, shrink sleeves, and printed and packaging materials, particularly into the food, beverage, and agriculture markets.

Its packaging solutions preserve product quality and shelf-life (for consumers), whilst MHL’s in-house R&D team work closely with corporate customers to provide innovative solutions to protect their brands from counterfeit labels.

OUR EXPANSION CAPITAL AIMS TO SUPPORT THE CONSOLIDATION OF MHL’S CURRENT MARKET POSITION, WHILST FACILITATING PRODUCT AND GEOGRAPHIC EXPANSION.

Wilfrid Korsaga, Partner, Phatisa

Founded in 1941, The Manipal Group employs over 7,000 people spread across four continents and seven countries across the globe.