AptarGroup Inc Profile
AptarGroup, Inc. (Aptar) is a global leader in the design and manufacturing of drug and consumer product dosing, dispensing and protection technologies.
Aptar serves a number of attractive end markets, including pharmaceutical, beauty, food, beverage, personal care, and home care. The company’s business includes manufacturing and selling aerosol valves in the United States, and has grown primarily through acquisitions and internal expansion.
The company has manufacturing facilities located throughout the world, including North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. The company has approximately 5,000 customers.
The company designs its products with both people and the environment in mind. Many of the company’s product solutions for the beauty, personal care, home care, food and beverage markets are recyclable, reusable or made with recycled content.
The company partners with its customers by providing innovative solutions and end market expertise. While the company offers a wide variety of services and products, the company’s primary products are dispensing pumps, closures, aerosol valves, elastomeric primary packaging components, active material science solutions and digital health solutions.
Dispensing pumps are finger-actuated dispensing systems that dispense a spray or lotion from non-pressurized containers. The style of pump used depends largely on the nature of the product being dispensed, from small, fine mist pumps used with pharmaceutical products and perfume to lotion pumps for more viscous formulas.
Closures are primarily dispensing closures but to a lesser degree can include non-dispensing closures. Dispensing closures are plastic caps that allow a product to be dispensed without removing the cap.
Aerosol valves dispense product from pressurized containers. The majority of the aerosol valves that the company sells are continuous spray valves, with the balance being metered dose valves and bag-on valves.
The company also manufactures and sells elastomeric primary packaging components. These components are used in the injectables market. Products include stoppers for infusion, antibiotic, lyophilization and diagnostic vials. The company’s elastomeric components also include pre-filled syringe components, such as plungers, needle shields, tip caps and components for cartridges.
The company provides active material science solutions using its platform technology to maintain container closure integrity, extend shelf-life, control moisture and oxygen while also protecting drug products from overall environmental exposures and degradations.
The company’s digital health solutions aim to improve patients' treatment experience and outcomes. The company leverages companion and regulated software solutions, connected devices and diagnostic tools that support patients to manage their disease, as well as enabling care teams to remotely monitor the health of the patients when needed. Available as standalone or as a fully integrated offering in the company’s existing range of drug delivery solutions, the company has digital health solutions covering a wide range of therapeutic areas, including but not limited to, pulmonary, oncology, neurology, diabetes, immunology and rare disease.
In March 2023, the company acquired 100% of the outstanding capital stock of iD SCENT. iD SCENT offers green sampling solutions for perfume and cosmetics.
In March 2023, the company also acquired 80% of the equity interests in Gulf Closures W.L.L. (‘Gulf Closures’). The acquisition of Gulf Closures allows the company to transfer some production to the Middle East and free up capacity in Germany while helping the company to establish a foothold in emerging markets.
In August 2022, the company acquired 100% of the outstanding capital stock of Metaphase Design Group Inc. (‘Metaphase’). Metaphase provides the company with human factor expertise primarily in pharma but this can also be leveraged in beauty and closures.
Strategy
The company’s strategies are to Focus on Organic Growth with an added focus on high growth regions; Excellence in Core Business Functions; and continue to focus on growing the company through appropriate business acquisition opportunities as well as developing partnerships to expand the scope of the company’s technologies, geographic presence and product offerings.
Segments
The company operates through three reporting segments: Aptar Pharma, Aptar Beauty, and Aptar Closures.
The Aptar Closures business serves multiple markets, including food, beverage, personal care, home care, beauty and healthcare. Closures that were developed in Beauty + Home moved to Aptar Closures together with the operations of the legacy Food + Beverage segment. Aptar's food protection business and the company’s elastomeric flow-control technology business continue to report through the Aptar Closures segment.
At the same time, the company has simplified and focused the company’s Beauty + Home segment to better leverage the company’s complex spray and dispensing solutions for prestige and mass brands in the beauty, personal care and home care markets. For many of the company’s customers, personal care products are considered part of ‘beauty’ and so the company renamed this segment, Aptar Beauty.
Aptar Pharma segment
The company’s Aptar Pharma segment is a leading supplier of nasal drug delivery spray pumps and metered dose inhaler valves (‘MDIs’) to the pharmaceutical and health care markets worldwide. The company is an important supplier of elastomer for injectable primary packaging components worldwide. The company also provides services designed to accelerate and de-risk the development and regulatory approvals of drugs using drug delivery devices. Characteristics of this market include governmental regulation of the company’s pharmaceutical customers, contaminant-controlled manufacturing environments and a significant amount of time and research from initially working with pharmaceutical companies at the molecular development stage of a medication through the eventual distribution to the market. The company has clean-room manufacturing facilities in Argentina, China, France, Germany, India, Switzerland and the United States. Providing value-added, convenient drug delivery and dispensing systems will continue to offer opportunities for the company’s business. In addition, there are opportunities for growth in the over-the-counter and generic pharmaceutical categories.
Prescription Drug
Sales to the prescription drug market accounted for approximately 46% of the segment’s total net sales in 2023. Pumps sold to the prescription drug market deliver medications nasally, orally or topically. The majority of the company’s pumps sold are for nasal allergy treatments. Sales of pumps to deliver prescription allergy medicine that is now available over-the-counter remains part of the company’s prescription drug division. The company’s nasal pumps and unit dose and bidose devices are also used to deliver liquid and powder pain management, emergency medicines and central nervous system therapies.
MDIs are used for dispensing precise amounts of aerosolized medication. This technology allows medication to be broken up into very fine particles, which enables the drug to be delivered typically via the pulmonary route. The majority of the company’s MDIs sold are used for respiratory ailments, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The company continues to develop proprietary drug delivery systems and accessories in this division. While the company expects that these types of new products will come to market in the future, it is difficult to estimate when, as the rigors of pharmaceutical regulations affect the timing of product introductions by the company’s pharmaceutical customers that use the company’s proprietary drug delivery systems.
Consumer Health Care
Sales to the consumer health care market accounted for approximately 25% of the segment’s total net sales in 2023. Many product applications for this market are similar to the prescription market proprietary drug delivery systems, however, these product applications are sold over-the-counter without a prescription. Typical consumer health care spray product applications include nasal decongestants, nasal salines and cough and cold products. Typical consumer health care valve product applications include nasal saline using the company’s bag-on valve technology. The company has developed a multi dose ophthalmic dispensing device suitable for unpreserved formulations. Other products sold to this market include airless pump systems for dermal drug delivery product applications. The company continues to see trends toward more child resistant and senior-friendly packaging solutions and have developed products to meet these market needs.
Injectables
Sales to the injectables market accounted for approximately 18% of the segment’s total net sales in 2023. Injectables are elastomeric primary packaging components that assist with the administration of injected medicines. Injectable products offered include stoppers for vials and pre-filled syringe components, such as plungers, rigid needle shields, tip caps and components for cartridges. The company’s recent capital investment commitments in this business have enabled the company to bring to market a broader offering of higher value products, including prefilled and coated stoppers and plungers which better protect the contents of the primary packaging container and the integrity of biologic formulations. Pharmaceutical applications for this market include vaccines, anti-thrombotic, small molecules and biologics.
Active Material Science Solutions
Sales of active material science solutions products accounted for approximately 10% of the segment’s total net sales in 2023. The company’s three-phase Active-Polymer technology solution is used to protect oral solid dose drugs, medical devices, diabetes diagnostics and probiotics. It can be engineered to absorb moisture, emit aromas, reduce pathogens, or scavenge odor, oxygen or volatile organic compounds.
Digital Health Solutions
Aptar began reporting on digital health solutions in the fourth quarter of 2021 with the acquisition of Voluntis S.A. Sales to the digital health market accounted for 1% of the segment's total net sales in 2023 and are expected to increase in the future as the company expands the division's platform for services provided. The digital health solutions the company provides improve patients' treatment, experience and outcomes. The company leverages connected devices, diagnostics and digital therapeutic tools that support patients in managing their disease, as well as enable care teams to remotely monitor the health of the patients when needed. Available as standalone or as a fully integrated offering in the company’s existing range of drug delivery solutions, the company has digital health solutions covering a wide range of therapeutic areas, including but not limited to, pulmonary, oncology, diabetes, immunology and neurology.
Aptar Beauty segment
The company’s Aptar Beauty segment sells a broad variety of pumps, airless systems and valves to the fragrance, color cosmetics, facial skincare, personal care and home care markets. The company is a leading supplier for the majority of the products the company sells primarily to the beauty markets.
Fragrance, Facial Skincare, Color Cosmetics
Sales to these markets accounted for approximately 63% of the segment’s total net sales in 2023. The fragrance, facial skincare, and color cosmetics markets require a broad range of spray and lotion pumps and sampling dispensing systems to meet functional, as well as aesthetic requirements. A considerable amount of research and coordination with the company’s customers is required to qualify a pump for use with their products. Within the market, the company expects the use of pumps to continue to increase, particularly in the fragrance, facial skincare and sampling sectors. Packaging for certain products, such as natural and organic cosmetics, dermo-cosmetic formulas and anti-aging lotions continue to provide the company with growth opportunities. The company is a leading provider of packaging solutions for prestige and mass market fragrance products. The company’s cosmetic lotion pumps, airless dispensing systems, and decorative capabilities are also expected to provide growth opportunities.
Personal Care
Sales to the personal care market accounted for approximately 33% of the segment’s total net sales in 2023 and primarily included sales of lotion pumps, spray pumps and continuous spray aerosol valves. Personal care lotion pump product applications include hand sanitizers, hand soaps, bath and shower cleansers and skin moisturizers. Typical spray pump product applications include hair care, body care and sun care products. Personal care continuous spray aerosol valve product applications include hair care products, deodorants, shaving creams and sun care products. The company’s research and development teams continue to design unique accessories that increase the value of the company’s continuous spray aerosol valve offerings.
Home Care
Sales to the home care market accounted for approximately 4% of the segment’s total net sales in 2023 and primarily included sales of continuous or metered dose spray aerosol valves, and to a lesser degree spray and lotion pumps. Product applications for continuous spray valves include disinfectants, spray paints, insecticides and automotive products. Metered dose valves are used for air fresheners. Spray and lotion pump product applications primarily include household cleaners, insect repellent and industrial cleaners.
Aptar Closures segment
The company’s Aptar Closures segment primarily sell dispensing closures.
In recent years, sales of dispensing closures have grown as consumers worldwide have demonstrated a preference for a package utilizing the convenience of a dispensing closure. At the same time, consumer marketers are trying to differentiate their products by incorporating performance enhancing features, such as flow-control and no-drip dispensing, e-commerce capable solution, inverted packaging and directional flow to make packages simpler to use, cleaner and more appealing to consumers. Aptar Closures is also evolving its product offering to make it more sustainable for example through light weighting, use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) resin, thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) flow control or by adding features, such as tethered closures and non-detachable tamper evident packaging for beverages. The company also has an increasing number of product solutions that address the increased use of flexible packaging formats.
Food
Sales to the food market accounted for approximately 52% of the segment’s total net sales in 2023 and primarily include sales of dispensing closures, including those utilizing elastomeric flow-control components, and absorbent and non-absorbent food service trays. Product applications for dispensing closures include sauces, condiments, infant nutrition and other food products. The company also leverages its material science technology to sell and further develop packaging solutions to the food service market to enhance the shelf life of those products.
Beauty, Personal Care and Home Care
Sales to the beauty, personal care and home care markets accounted for approximately 27% of the segment’s total net sales in 2023 and primarily include sales of dispensing closures for standard and custom applications. Hair care, body and facial skin care, dish care, and other products in these spaces use dispensing closures to provide convenience, function, and style.
Beverage
Sales to the beverage market accounted for approximately 21% of the segment’s total net sales in 2023 and primarily include sales of dispensing closures, including those utilizing elastomeric flow-control components. Sales of dispensing closures to the beverage market have increased over the last several years, reflecting the rebound of on-the-go consumption from consumers. The company sees continued interest from marketers using dispensing closures for their products. Examples of beverage products utilizing dispensing closures include bottled water, sport and energy drinks, juices and concentrated water flavorings.
Customers
The company has approximately 5,000 customers.
International Business
The company is geographically diverse with manufacturing and sales operations in Asia, Europe, Latin America (including Mexico) and North America. Europe is the company’s largest region in terms of sales, where sales (including exports) for the year ended December 31, 2023 were approximately 57% of the company’s consolidated sales. Asia and Latin America when aggregated represented approximately 14% of the company’s consolidated sales for the year ended December 31, 2023. The company is a net exporter of goods from Europe and a net importer of goods to the North American, Asian and Latin American regions.
Government Regulation
The company has established an innovation team that focuses on designing for and converting into more sustainable options like post-consumer recycled (PCR) resin and Food and Drug Administration approved resin alternatives.
The company’s new product offerings include: Purity Lite, a mono-material, lightweight, fully-recyclable closure; SimpliCycle, an award winning recyclable valve; Rocket, a sports cap awarded Best in Cap at the 17th Global Water Drinks Congress in 2020, tethered and with no losable component; Future, a mono-material, fully-recyclable pump; APF Futurity, the company’s highly recyclable nasal spray pump and Mono Micro, the company’s mono-material and fully recyclable airless dispenser.
Research and Development
The company’s research and development costs, net of any customer funded research and development or government research and development credits, are expensed as incurred. These costs amounted to $92.8 million in 2023.
History
AptarGroup, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in 1992.
