Glass man leads Viscose Closures buy-in
Gareth Rowlands, a former executive at glass maker Schott, has led a £5m buy-in at Viscose Closures, a packaging maker which has a factory in Swansea.
The deal was backed by Finance Wales, which provided a £2.3m equity investment, and angel investment from a group led by Philip Roberts.
Viscose Closures has an office is in Crawley, West Sussex. It has a factory on Swansea Enterprise Park, where most of its 55 employees work.
It makes pilfer-proof closures, promotional sleeves, and packaging for drinks, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
The company exports a third of its production. And it plans to diversify its product range to attract new domestic and international blue-chip customers.
Rowlands now heads Viscose's management team following the retirement of its previous managing director, Bill Cartwright.
Rowlands said: "Buying into Viscose was an unmissable opportunity as it's a profitable, international business which has been trading for over 100 years. It has stayed ahead of the competition by adapting to the needs of its loyal customer base."
Finance Wales was advised by PwC, Geldards, Santis, and the Quinn Partnership.
