The Sitachitt family, founders of Mala Chemical Industries in 1961, has bought back all its shares from Rosti of Demark and A.P. Moller. The Sitachitt family previously held a 49% stake in Rosti (Mala), Rosti of Denmark had 49% stake and AP Moller 2%. The company is a leading plastic and melamine manufacturer. The name has as of October 1, 2002 been changed to Malaplast Co.
Mr. Manu Sitachitt, who remains managing director of Malaplast, in an article in Bangkok Post on Friday 27 September explained that A.P. Moller wanted to sell its shares to focus on its core businesses of shipping, shipbuilding and petroleum exploration and production.
Mr Manu said Malaplast still maintained a good business relationship with its former Danish partners. Peter Linnemann, managing director of the Maersk Group in Thailand, AP Moller’s shipping arm, remained on Malaplast’s board, and Mikael Olufsen, the former Rosti representative, will become Malaplast’s new chairman.
Malaplast’s core business is technical plastic, plastic packaging and melamine products, which have generated annual sales of more than one billion baht. Under the marketing plan for the next five years, the focus will be on producing technical plastic and plastic packaging.
The company’s name was changed to Rosti (Mala) from Mala Chemical Industries in April 1999 after Rosti and AP Moller acquired 51% from the Sitachitt family, in a move intended to capitalise on the higher international awareness of the products by the Danish partner.
