UNITED CAPS Celebrating 80 Years:

A Legacy of Progress, Exceptional Quality and Innovation

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UNITED CAPS was founded on the principles of excel lence and

innovation. Its roots as a family-owned business go back to 1939

in Belgium when Resibel began the production Bakelite products,

including closures for a variety of market applications. Although

Bakelite was invented in 1909 in the United States, the acquisi-

tion of the technology by Union Carbide in 1939 spurred interest

in its use for an ever-growing range of products, and Resibel was

an early adopter of manufacturing with this first plastic in history.

Today, the same family lineage still permeates the company and

continues its sense of responsibility to the future via a sustainable

strategy – in business and for the earth.

These principles of innovation have been carried on over the past

80 years with a number of acquisitions and innovative caps and

closure products. In 2015, the company was rebranded as UNITED

CAPS and recognised as a true global player, with manufacturing

output increasing each year. In 2018, UNITED CAPS hit another

major milestone, producing 10 billion closures in that year.

Benoit Henckes, who has been the company’s CEO since

September 1993, noted that while other companies may focus on

production quantity, UNITED CAPS places a focus on production

quality, saying, “We don’t set out every year to make the most

closures. And this year [2018], we are proud that 10 billion times,

we’ve set out and succeeded in making the best closures. It is a

major milestone that highlights the faith the market puts in UNITED

CAPS. It’s a sign of reliability, a badge of honour.”

1956 Resibel bakelite production 1985 Resibel1965 Resibel bakelite 2007 Procap Hoboken

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CLOSE TO YOU

A key strategy for UNITED CAPS has been its CLOSE TO

YOU strategy. Over the years, UNITED CAPS has worked

closely with its customers in the development of new caps

and closures – 50% of which are bespoke and the other

50% standard products. This has resulted not only in the

company pursuing acquisitions to augment expertise and

a broader geographic footprint, but has also resulted in

the opening of a number of new facilities. One example

of a recent acquisition that demonstrates this strategy is

the acquisition of Embalatap in Spain, which added the

larger closures for edible oils popular in Southern Europe

to UNITED CAPS’ broad portfolio.

CustomerFrom concept to end use,we deliver a complete service.

Long termA family-owned business,we invest in a sustainable future.

Our peopleConfident and committed,

we serve with enthusiasm.

SolutionWe constantly innovate to

add value to customers.

ExpertiseWe foster learning for

continuous skills development.

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Currently, the company has 9 plants in Europe; an

extended R&D Centre in Messia, France; and a brand-

new manufacturing plant in Kulim, Malaysia, its first

manufacturing operation in Asia. All plants are equipped

with the very latest equipment and technologies to

ensure fast time to market with highly accurate caps and

closures. In addition, caps and closures, whether bespoke

or standard, undergo extensive testing prior to line trials

at the customer site to ensure rapid implementation and

minimal downtime for the customer.

UNITED CAPS continues on a growth path based on our

three market-driven pillars of RELATE – PERFORM -

SUSTAIN.

• RELATE – We focus on insight-driven innovation for

on-the-shelf impact. Being close to our customers and

having a good understanding of the preferences of

consumers enables us to create breakthrough on-the-

shelf solutions.

• PERFORM – We improve usability for consumers and

productivity for customers.

• SUSTAIN – We help meet today’s needs without

compromising the future. We make products greener,

and we help reduce the carbon footprint of our

customers.

Employing almost 600 people, UNITED CAPS’s turnover

amounts to 149 million Euros (as at end 2018).

Growth Strategy

Resibel 1939 Malaysia 2019Procap Hoboken 1994

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Innovation HighlightsWhile there have been innumerable innovations – both

large and small – in the UNITED CAPS story over the last

80 years, we highlight these recent innovations that are

important to our customers – and theirs – around the world.

Caps and closures are the gateway to the product they

protect and the beginning of the customer experience with

the product. Plus, great closures enable unique branding

concepts and are a critical part of the total packaging

solution for the brand. These examples epitomise both

concepts:

• GREENER Closures: In collaboration with Braskem,

a leading Brazilian petrochemical company, UNITED

CAPS was fi rst to market with a line of GREENER bio-

sourced plastic caps and closures made from sugar

cane. Green polyethylene begins its life as sugar cane,

a renewable resource that replaces itself in a single

year and is designed to have the same characteris-

tics, quality and properties as conventional PE, sharing

the same production route. That, combined with the

fact that sugar cane consumes a signifi cant amount of

carbon dioxide, gives green polyethylene a negative

carbon footprint. Its use reduces greenhouse gases

and it is 100% recyclable.

• SMARTER Closures: With an estimated US$460 billion

in counterfeit goods worldwide, counterfeit prevention

has signifi cant economic benefi ts, including protection

of jobs and prevention of deaths due to counterfeit

drugs. Two different anti-counterfeiting solutions will be

on display at the show: QR+ technology, a combination

of a QR code and secure fi ngerprint that helps brands

enhance consumer confi dence; and holographic engra-

ving integrated into a closure, forming an intrinsic and

irremovable security feature, providing immediate ve-

rifi cation with no need for additional scanners or other

equipment.

• PROTECSCOOP has been highly popular in the Asian

market and will be manufactured in our new Malaysian

plant as part of our CLOSE TO YOU strategy. Its bene-

fi ts include:

- Flip-top hinged closure whose innovative design

allows one-handed preparation of feeding bottles.

- Contamination-free foil-sealed chamber protects

the included scoop until use; an integrated hook

keeps the scoop handy for further use. The scoop’s

thumb-shaped handle makes it easy to use.

- Standard scoop with dosing range from 8 to 13 ml;

no restriction on scoop shape.

- The incorporated levelling device ensures precise

dosing of milk powder.

- Recently named by market research fi rm Euro-

monitor International as one of the two best baby

food closure solutions available in the market.

• GREENCAP is the lightest snap cap on the market and

allows for nearly double the capping speeds of traditio-

nal closures. It has a superior surface fi nish that makes

it successful, especially in Asian markets. GREENCAP

is an example of a “kinder” closure – kinder on the bud-

get and kinder to the environment. Our ability to bring

GREENCAP to the market was enabled by a techno-

logy breakthrough in the resin that ensures a strong

and effective, yet light weight, closure.

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These innovative solutions are found in our catalog

of products that can be customised to some degree

to meet each customer’s specific needs. We also

have been able to achieve astonishing results with

bespoke solutions that appear to be impossible at

first blush, such as the closure developed for Nescafé

Gold coffee – a brushed metal effect that supports the

high-quality image of Nescafé and stands out on the

shelf. The development followed our Relate-Perform-

Sustain model. The final result incorporated a metal

label in-mould that was thought to be impossible but

was ultimately accomplished and delighted Nestlé and

its customers.

Superior ability to develop bespoke closures that

shift the needle for brands looking to differentiate.

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“We are pleased with our progress to date on our

stated growth initiatives,” said Benoît Henckes, CEO

of UNITED CAPS. “The goal is to not only position

ourselves for growth, but in doing so, to significantly

increase the value we bring to our customers. For

example, the recent extension of our Messia R&D

Center alone, with a 30% increase in both staff and

floor space, will enable us to develop both standard

and bespoke products more quickly. The acquisition

of Embalatap in Spain adds significant products to

our portfolio, especially as it relates to closures for

edible oils typically used in the Southern European

market. Our new plant in Malaysia brings us closer

to our Asian customers and better able to serve that

important market. And we – and our customers – are

quite excited about the potential for our GREENER

bioplastics closures sourced from sugar cane, as

well as our innovative anti-counterfeiting initiatives.

The past 80 years have been amazing – and we are

excited for what comes next!”

Benoît Henckes, CEO of UNITED CAPS

UNITED CAPSZI de Wiltz, BP 49, 9501 Wiltz, Grand-Duchy of LuxembourgT +352 95 94 94 1 I F +352 95 94 95 I www.unitedcaps.com

For more information please contact mygoldenmoment@unitedcaps.com