Infinya Ltd

Infinya Ltd (formerly known as American Israeli Paper Mills and later Nir Lat) is Israel's largest company in the production, marketing, and recycling of paper products. Founded in 1951 as American Israeli Paper Mills (Mena'i), the company was renamed Nir Lat in 2008 and rebranded as Infinya in February 2022. The company operates through several subsidiaries and business divisions, including Infinya Recycling (formerly Amnir Recycling), writing and printing paper, Graphity, packaging paper and recycling, and development and infrastructure. The group employs approximately 700 people and has annual sales turnover of about 1.7 billion shekels. Infinya is a leader in Israel's circular economy, specializing in recycling, cardboard paper production, and packaging manufacturing. The company's advanced plant converts over 400,000 tons of paper waste annually into cardboard paper rolls used by Israel's packaging industry. Its recycling division operates through two logistics centers with nationwide service coverage. The packaging division offers a wide range of advanced packaging solutions, including digital, flexo, and offset printing, studio and design services, and delivery to the customer's door. The company was controlled by Veridis Environment Ltd, which completed the acquisition of 100% of Infinya's shares in two stages during 2023. Previously, the company was publicly traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and was the first Israeli company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the late 1950s. Infinya is committed to corporate and social responsibility, implementing circular economy principles in its core business to reduce waste sent to landfill and reuse valuable materials.

The history of Infinya dates back to the early 1940s when the idea of establishing a paper industry in Hadera using eucalyptus trees as raw material was first discussed. In 1950, Pinchas Sapir persuaded a group of Jewish paper industrialists—Joseph Mazer of Pulp and Paper New York, Astorre Mayer of Italy, Leon Feffer of Brazil, and Max Freilich of Australia—to establish a paper factory in Israel in the Hadera area. A year later, in 1951, the company was founded as "American Israeli Paper Mills Ltd" (Mena'i). The Association of Publishers and the Printing Industry Owners Organization were also brought in as investors to ensure they would purchase the factory's products. An agreement to establish the factory was signed in January 1952 between the investors and the Israeli government. In October 1953, the first shipment of raw material arrived at the factory in Haifa Port, and on December 16, 1953, the factory was officially inaugurated. Import licenses for paper types produced by the factory were canceled, and hopes were raised for significant foreign currency savings. However, it soon became clear that the small foreign currency savings did not justify the high prices charged and the high profits reaped by the entrepreneurs due to the absence of competing imports. Generally, Nir Lat's prices were about 20-25% higher than imported paper prices. Additionally, there were claims about the poor quality of the paper produced by the factory. In July 1957, a cornerstone was laid for an expansion of the factory to produce cellulose and additional paper production lines that would expand production capacity to 30,000-40,000 tons per year. The expansion was completed in February 1960. In the mid-1960s, paper production reached 40,000 tons per year, and a third production line was discussed, but the cellulose production plant was shut down due to lack of feasibility. A fourth paper production machine was installed in the first half of 1976, and by 1978 the factory produced about 105,000 tons of paper. In mid-1976, the factory faced liquidity difficulties, and demands were made to restrict paper imports to Israel to assist the factory. After about a year and a half, the factory returned to profitability. Upon opening, the factory employed 75 workers in three shifts. By 1976, the number of employees reached about 1,450. In 1988, Nir Lat was declared a monopoly in the field of paper in rolls and sheets. Over the years, the name "Nir Lat" became entrenched for the company, but only in 2008 was it decided to adopt the nickname, and its official name was changed to "Nir Lat Ltd." In February 2022, the company announced it was changing its name to "Infinya," and the name of its subsidiary "Amnir Recycling" was changed to "Infinya Recycling." In the late 1960s, the company began a policy of investing in factories and ventures in and outside the paper field. It established the companies Hogla and Dafnir, acquired a science translation plant from Koor, and acquired the American Israeli Felt Company Ltd. In early 1970, the subsidiary Amnir was established for collecting and recycling old paper. The company invested in Savcal for engine production in Karmiel and in the 1970s entered the cash register import business. The company also established Niraoz, an investment and holding company, and Yavnir for importing paper types not produced by the factory. In the 1980s, the "Mult" paper factory was acquired from Karl Kahana. In January 2015, the company announced an agreement to sell its 49.9% stake in Hogla-Kimberly for about 650 million shekels to Kimberly-Clark. In May 2015, the company announced an agreement to sell its integrated energy company and existing energy center to IC Power, part of the Kenon Group, for 60 million shekels. Regarding ownership, the company's shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the late 1950s, making it the first Israeli company to be listed in New York. In 1984, about half of the company's shares were held by various US investors, 25% by Koor Industries, and 15% by Discount Investments. In July 2012, the sale and transfer of control of Nir Lat (along with its parent company Koor Industries) from IDB Development Corporation to businessman Leonard Blavatnik was completed. In June 2015, Koor Industries announced the sale of 59.1% of Nir Lat shares to Fimi Fund for 355 million shekels. In August 2021, Fimi Fund sold 13.8% of the company's shares to institutional investors. In August 2022, it was reported that Veridis was seeking an agreement to purchase Fimi Fund's stake in the company and acquire the remaining shares held by the public. During 2023, Veridis acquired 100% of Infinya's share capital in two stages: on February 6, 2023, a merger between Veridis and Goma (a partnership wholly owned by Israel Infrastructure Fund) and Infinya was completed, after which Veridis held 70% of Infinya's share capital. On July 12, 2023, Veridis completed a transaction to purchase an additional 30% of Infinya's issued and paid-up share capital held by Goma, and now Veridis holds the entire issued and paid-up share capital of Infinya.

• 2023

  Veridis acquired 100% of Infinya's shares in two stages (February and July).

• 2022

  Company rebranded as Infinya; subsidiary Amnir Recycling renamed Infinya Recycling.

• 2015

  Sold 49.9% stake in Hogla-Kimberly to Kimberly-Clark for ~650 million shekels; sold energy center to IC Power for 60 million shekels.

• 2012

  Control transferred to Leonard Blavatnik.

• 2008

  Official name changed to Nir Lat Ltd.

• 1988

  Declared a monopoly in paper rolls and sheets.

• 1976

  Fourth paper machine installed; factory faced liquidity difficulties.

• 1960

  Expansion completed, capacity increased to 30,000-40,000 tons per year.

• 1957

  Cornerstone laid for expansion to produce cellulose and additional paper lines.

• 1953

  Factory officially inaugurated in Hadera on December 16.

• 1951

  Company founded as American Israeli Paper Mills Ltd (Mena'i).

Israel's largest circular economy group, turning waste into raw materials, products, and shared economic and social value.

• Recycled cardboard paper rolls

• Corrugated cardboard packaging

• Food packaging

• Sushi takeaway boxes

• Storage boxes

• Gift packaging

• Writing and printing paper

1. 1Infinya official websiteinfinya.co.il
2. 2Infinya packaging cataloginfinya.co.il
3. 3Infinya corporate and social responsibilityinfinya.co.il
4. 4Infinya Ltd on Wikidatawikidata.org
5. 5אינפיניה on Hebrew Wikipediahe.wikipedia.org