Packaging equipment technology leader OYSTAR GmbH restructures to create OYSTAR North America, selecting Barry Shoulders to lead the new $250 million company.


OYSTAR North America combines OYSTAR USA, a Morganville, N.J.-based sales operation representing packaging machinery brands manufactured in Europe, as well as packaging equipment manufacturers OYSTAR Packaging Technologies, Davenport, Iowa; and OYSTAR Jones, Covington, Ky. CEO Tom Graf and the supervisory board of OYSTAR GmbH, a world leader in packaging equipment technology, announced a restructuring that creates OYSTAR North America, a $250 million company with 650 employees.

Barry Shoulders, president of OYSTAR Packaging Technologies, will lead OYSTAR North America, which becomes one of the largest suppliers of packaging machinery and services in the United States, Canada and Mexico. “All of us at OYSTAR North America are excited by this new customer-focused structure that will translate into more complete packaging solutions and stronger partnerships with both customers and vendors,” says Shoulders.

OYSTAR says the U.S. merger is a further result of the successful restructuring of the OYSTAR Group. “We began restructuring one and a half years ago,” explains Graf. “From the onset, it was our goal to centrally manage individual product and customer groups and no longer through several subsidiaries. The past financial year clearly shows that this was the right path.” Compared with 2009, the OYSTAR Group was able to more than triple its operating results in 2010.

Shoulders also referenced the continued involvement of Charles Ravalli, current president of OYSTAR USA. “We are pleased to have Charles as a valued member of our team, who will spearhead our efforts to integrate OYSTAR’s internationally manufactured equipment into the packaging lines of our domestic customers,” he says.

Gordon Bonfield, president of OYSTAR Jones, is appointed transition officer to oversee the process of combining the three companies into one efficient North American operation. “Under this new structure, our combined strength will deliver to customers a more coordinated approach to packaging solutions, offering the complete range of globally manufactured OYSTAR machinery brands to our North American customers through three centrally managed North American locations,” he says.

Another key reason to combine and streamline North American operations is customer ease and convenience, Shoulders concludes. “Customers who have been purchasing various OYSTAR brands will now have one key contact in North America to facilitate all machinery requirements. It is now more efficient to arrange the design, manufacture, installation and service of a complete packaging line from beginning to end.”