Canada's CCL Industries, newly created Chilean investment holding company to invest nearly C$10M to create a label production plant in Santiago, Chile, dedicated to the wine industry

Graziela Medina Shepnick

TORONTO , April 12, 2012 (press release) – CCL Industries Inc. (TSX:CCL.A)(TSX:CCL.B), a world leader in specialty packaging solutions for the consumer products and healthcare industries, announced today that it will make its first investment in Chile.

Acrus-CCL based in Santiago is a joint venture between CCL and a newly created Chilean investment holding company, which has two groups of shareholders: Mitchell Kendall and David Goodman, both veterans of the label industry as former principals of Cameo Crafts Graphic Industries; and Jose Mingo, Aldo Gonzalez and members of the Marinetti family, who have a long history in packaging and the wine and spirits market in Chile. CCL and its partner will each have a 50% interest in Acrus-CCL; Mr. Aldo Gonzalez has been appointed as General Manager.

The partners will initially invest approximately $10 million between them, financed by a combination of debt and equity, to create a state-of-the-art label production plant in Santiago dedicated to the wine industry. Chilean wine exports have more than doubled in less than a decade and are estimated to have reached 50 million cases in 2011. CCL's initial equity investment of $2 million will be matched by its joint venture partner. Acrus-CCL will eventually expand its presence in the wine and spirits market to other Spanish speaking countries in the Mercusor trading zone.

Mr. Aldo Gonzalez, General Manager Acrus-CCL, commented, "We are excited to bring new leading edge supply chain and label converting technologies to the very specific needs of Chilean wine exporters. We have a highly experienced local management team that knows the wine industry intimately, supported by the technologies and global leverage of the world's largest label company. I believe such a powerful combination will bring many benefits to our customers in Chile."

Geoffrey T. Martin, President and Chief Executive Officer concluded, "We have known and admired the principals in this new partnership for some years. This investment expands our presence in both the wine and spirits business and adds an important territory in the fast growing Latin American region. CCL's interests in the joint venture will be represented by Luis Jocionis, Vice President and Managing Director, CCL Label Brazil. We expect the company to commence trading this month and plan to reach profitability in 2013."

With headquarters in Toronto, Canada, CCL Industries now employs approximately 6,400 people and operates 69 production facilities globally located to meet the sourcing needs of large international customers. CCL Label is the world's largest converter of pressure sensitive and film materials for label applications and sells to leading global customers in the consumer packaging, healthcare, automotive and consumer durable markets. CCL Container and CCL Tube are leading producers of aluminum aerosol cans, bottles and extruded plastic tubes for consumer packaged goods customers in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

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