Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions). We will take our first question from Ghansham Punjabi.
Ghansham Punjabi - Wachovia Capital Markets, Llc
Hey Henry, could you elaborate little bit on the European flexible packaging business. What was the delta there relative to expectations, was it volumes, was it cost take out et cetera, just trying to get some flavor there?
Henry Theisen
The European business is improving really for the last say four quarters and has done a really nice job in this year. The two main reasons are the world class manufacturing efforts we put in place. A lot of those improvements if you remember, the European businesses came with other acquisitions. We got a piece of Clysar business from DuPont. We got a plant and we did Paramount. We ended up with a plant from UPM. And in putting together the world class manufacturing, we've got these initiatives going across the plants, we got the plants working together with each other and so we have been able to gain some advantages there.
The other is, goes back to the investments we made in the past and the plan we had to upgrade the value added part of our businesses over there. We put in seven-layer materials, we put in technologies around polyester, and then we are starting to see the benefits of those value add sales which go with higher margins, because they offer solutions for our customers. So it's really a split between those two things and it's an ongoing growing program.
Ghansham Punjabi - Wachovia Capital Markets, Llc
And as my follow up was the resin tailwind as substantial in Europe as it was in the states?
Henry Theisen
Yeah. I think it was.
Operator
We will take out next question from George Staphos of Bank of America.
George Staphos - Bank of America-Merrill Lynch
Really take you back on Ghansham's questions. Different swag perhaps, can you help us pass roughly the $12 million improvement in flexible EBIT between or amongst the various geographies. So, roughly speaking, how much was in the Americas or North America, how much was in South America, how much was in Europe?
Henry Theisen
George, I don't know if we have that readily available. Just because of the volumes of sales we have in North America, the principal improvement would have been in North America in terms of dollar value.
George Staphos - Bank of America-Merrill Lynch
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