CASTELNAUDARY, FRANCE -- Plastisud SAS, a French manufacturer of injection molds that specializes in the packaging market, has purchased Integrity Mold & Die Ltd. of Mount Vernon, Ky.

Plastisud established a foothold in North America in 2009, when it opened a sales and technical office in Burlington, Ontario. With the purchase of Integrity Mold, the Castelnaudary-based company said it will be able to serve the North American market more effectively.

"The world runs faster and the needs of our customers are changing, requiring faster technical support and reactivity. Soon, it will not be possible to imagine any mold refurbishment or repair far away from its market," Plastisud said in a news release.

Last year Plastisud took a big step into China, with the announcement of a joint venture with injection press maker Engel Holding GmbH.

"Plastisud already is an international company, exporting 80 percent of its molds to the five continents," CEO Jean-Luc Giraud said in the release. "With the addition of integrity, we now have a more robust global presence."

Kleber Salazar, sales & marketing manager at Plastisud USA, said "This new platform will allow us to get closer to our customers and reinforces our global deployment strategy."

Plastisud has more than 200 employees and annual sales exceeding $50 million. The company specializes in tooling for closures and thin-wall packaging – its achievements include 144-cavity molds for beverage plastic closures under 1 gram with an olive plug seal. The company has a 130,000-square-foot production plant equipped with 10 injection presses.

Integrity Mold was founded by three molders -- Dwight Looney, Kyle Thompson and Rick McGraw -- in 1989, and has a 25,000-square-foot plant in Mount Vernon. The company has 25 employees and sales averaging $5 million annually.