It has been a year of change and forward motion for Verstraete IML, a global supplier of in-mold labels headquartered in Maldegem, Belgium. According to company owner Koen Verstraete, in 2017 the company “saw growth” and continued to “invest significantly” in its Belgian production sites in order to increase capacity and reduce lead times for the company’s global customers. Meanwhile, at the end of October, parent company Constantia Flexibles announced the sale of its labels division, which includes Verstraete IML, to Multi-Color Corp. (MCC; Batavia, OH).
“We believe there is a promising future for Verstraete IML with our new partner MCC,” said Verstraete. “Multi-Color Corp. is entirely focused on labels and, therefore, fits our core activity perfectly. Furthermore, MCC has 70 operational sites worldwide. That gives us opportunities to increase our global presence. In addition, at Verstraete IML our strength lies in injection molding and thermoforming IML, while MCC is big in blowmolding IML. By combining our technological know-how we are able to create new opportunities. Last but not least, MCC is a U.S.-based group and America remains an important growth market for IML.”