The packaging company Iflex wants to take a leap forward with its next IPO. The company, based in Ullà (Girona), plans to start trading on the BME Growth in mid-September or early October.
Josep Maria Puig, who controls the business together with his brother Genís, comments that the family has decided to list 30% of the shares, so that 70% will remain in the hands of the Puigs.
With the IPO, the industrial company expects to exceed a valuation of 16 million euros and raise around 3 million. “We are going to invest the money in the purchase of machinery, the expansion of the production center and the installation of air conditioning for the workers”, says the general director.
The company, born in 1986, has been in full growth since three years ago it decided to buy new rotogravure machinery. Since its origins, Iflex has specialized in this printing technique and, as a result of the financial crisis, it began to use it for flexible plastic, aluminum and paper packaging. Its clients include pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food groups (from the cheese, yogurt, sausage or meat sectors). Iflex sells mainly in Spain, while 20% is exported to countries in the Maghreb area, Belgium, the Netherlands and France.
Last year, the company closed with a turnover of 12 million euros and this year it is on track to reach 15, according to forecasts by the CEO, who adds that the company is profitable. "Last year we earned 800,000 euros and obtained a gross profit (Ebtida) of 12%," he says. Regarding the workforce, the employer indicates that the team has more than 100 workers and that the number will increase as the business prospers. The company is currently run by the Puig brothers, although the second generation has already assumed positions of responsibility.
Puig believes that the key to the business lies in experience and familiar treatment, but above all in the integration of the entire printing process. “There are very few companies in Spain that have rotogravure machinery since over the years the simpler process offered by flexography has been gaining ground. We continue with rotogravure because we think it has greater versatility and quality”, he points out.
Apart from this business, Josep Maria Puig is also the owner of the company Aquamarina Costa Brava, which expects to bill 1 million euros with the treatment and packaging of seawater for therapeutic and food uses.
