Close the Loop (ASX: CLG) snaps up Crasti &Co ahead of schedule; wins top sustainability award

Highlights

• Close the Loop has completed the acquisition of Crasti & Company one month earlier than planned.
• The company stated that the early acquisition will raise the Group’s earnings in FY 2022 with additional one-month contribution from Crasti & Co.
• Close the Loop has completed successful recycling trials with Crasti & Co products and is in the process of building a take-back program for Crasti bulk bag customers.
• Close the Loop’s packaging division, OF Pack has won the Diamond Award for the 2021 Dow Packaging Innovation Awards in Switzerland.

Close the Loop Limited (ASX: CLG) has wrapped up the acquisition of Crasti & Company Pty Ltd, one of the leading Australian bulk packaging businesses, a month sooner than it was initially planned. This will add one additional month of contribution from Crasti & Co. to the Group’s earnings in the ongoing fiscal year (FY 2022). Also, the company has added another feather to its cap, by winning Diamond Award, which is a top global sustainability award for packaging.

Stoked by the company’s upbeat market update, CLG shares zoomed up 8.474% to trade at AU$0.320 per share on Monday. The company has a market capitalisation of AU$97.18 million.

Also read: Close the Loop IPO: Insights on the Sustainable Packaging Company's Solutions

Early acquisition: Cherry on the cake  

Close the Loop’s acquisition of Crasti & Company has been a smooth and seamless process and it falls in line with company’s ongoing operations. The early acquisition is expected to rake in additional financial rewards for the firm. The financial numbers are flying higher than expected, as on 28 February FY2022, the company’s revenue year-to-date, excluding the impact of any acquisitions, was up 23% on the previous corresponding period.

Here’s what the Group’s Chief Executive Officer Joe Foster said: “This acquisition shows the cumulative power Close the Loop has in its ability as the only ASX-listed company operating in all parts in the circular economy - from product design, manufacturing, collection, and recycling and then eventually recovering it as new packaging or secondary products, or simply packaging to packaging. The Crasti & Co bulk plastic packaging being incorporated into our TonerPlas production through take-back programs with its customers is a good example of us operating on our ‘zero waste to landfill’ approach to the circular economy.”

Image source: Company announcement

Crasti & Co product take-back programs and reuse into TonerPlas

Close the Loop has completed successful recycling trials with Crasti & Co products and is in the process of building a take-back program for Crasti bulk bag customers. The program would include multinationals, national corporates, and prominent government departments. These bags can be reused or sold, depending on their condition with some products being repurposed into TonerPlas production.

TonerPlas is a patented, high performance asphalt additive made from soft plastics and waste printer cartridge toner. Across the state and territory of Australia, over 100,000 tonnes of TonerPlas asphalt have been laid in roads by more than 40 councils. Most recently, it was used by the Victorian Department of Transport in the M80 Freeway and Monash freeway upgrades.

Do read: ASX-listed Close the Loop buys seafood packaging co Oceanic Agencies

Close the Loop: A global sustainability award winner  
In another upbeat development, Close the Loop’s packaging division, OF Pack has been honoured with the Diamond Award for the 2021 Dow Packaging Innovation Awards in Switzerland, recently. It is the top global sustainability award for packaging.

The award recognised the high-barrier, kerbside recyclable muesli pouch for Brookfarm using the Roll ‘n’ Recycle program. This innovation is a result of 12 months of testing to create a solution that enables consumers to transform the empty, 100% polyethylene flat packaging into a 3D shape, suitable for the recycling bin so it’s ready for recycling through existing processes. It is a first-of-its-kind innovation in Australia for kerbside recycling. It was recognised for the award above other sustainability initiatives from the largest flexible packaging companies in the world.

The Company also won a Gold Award for utilising recycled content into spout pouch packaging for another client, Zero Co.