Hydro Aluminium of Norway has said that by the end of the year it expects to sell the flexible packaging operations it acquired in Germany during the take over of VAW Aluminium in January.
The flexible packaging unit has been available to potential purchasers since the take over. The unit has annual sales of around €500 million with a workforce of about 3,000 in Germany, France, Turkey and Asia. It makes packaging materials from aluminium, plastics and paper.
The company says that the integration of VAW into Hydro Aluminium is progressing "extremely well". The group forecast earlier this year that cost savings of €200 million could be made by 2004.
No plant closures in Germany are planned but 100 jobs have gone with the merger of the German headquarters of VAW and Hydro Aluminium. The company said that any new primary aluminium production is likely to be built in countries with low energy costs and not in Germany.