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Alpla, a company specialising in the production and recycling of plastic packaging, has restructured its leadership team in two regions, Western Europe and Asia-Pacific (APAC).
Roland Wallner, current managing director of the APAC region, will take over as managing director of Western Europe on 1 April. He will be succeeded by Ronald Tichelaar, who is being promoted from general manager in China.
With over 27 years of international management experience in Europe, the US, Middle East and Asia, and 14 years at the company, Wallner held the managing director APAC role from 2021.
During his time in Asia, driving significant top- and bottom-line growth, Wallner built up and expanded the company’s presence in several Asian countries and oversaw multiple major greenfield projects. He established the new technical centre for product development in Shanghai and introduced services such as the StudioA design centre and mould manufacturing.
In recent years, Wallner successfully merged the former North East Asia and South East Asia regions into the new APAC region, based in Singapore.
Speaking about the change in leadership, Philipp Lehner, Alpla's CEO, said: “Roland Wallner knows Alpla, our customers’ needs and the business. With his strategic and prudent leadership style, as well as his commitment to excellence, he will strengthen our position in Western Europe and drive future growth opportunities.”
Currently, the Western European region comprises 31 base plants and 17 in-house plants across ten countries, with approximately 5,700 people employed in Alpla's largest region.
Taking over from Wallner, Ronald Tichelaar has 14 years of international management experience at Alpla, including as head of operations in North Asia and plant manager in Spain.
As general manager of China, he led six plants, the technical centre and StudioA in Shanghai, as well as the mould shop and Future Corner training centre. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Alpla said Tichelaar revitalised business growth, achieved 'first-class operational excellence' and set benchmarks in quality and efficiency.
The Asia-Pacific region brings together 12 locations with 2,650 employees in four countries. At the beginning of 2025, Alpla opened its second plant and headquarters for Thailand in Chachoengsao.
Speaking about Tichelaar’s appointment, Lehner said: “His commitment to continuous improvement, modernisation and growth, as well as his great understanding of all of Alpla’s business areas, make Ronald Tichelaar the ideal candidate. With this internal solution, we are ensuring a seamless transition and continuity.”
Across the world, Alpla operates PET and HDPE recycling plants in Austria, Germany, Poland, Mexico, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Romania, Thailand and Brazil. Other projects are being implemented internationally.