In its third move this year to expand its presence in blow molding markets,CKS Packaging Inc. has purchased the interest of its partner in CKS/Rigal Joint Venture Inc. of Atlanta. CKS bought the 50 percent interest of Atlantis Plastics Inc. of Miami, ending the four-year joint venture. CKS/Rigal will continue to make high density polyethylene bottles, according to CKS President Charles Sewell.
``We have been looking for opportuni-ties,'' Sewell said. ``The association with Atlantis has been a very good one, but this looked like the right thing to do.''
Early this year, CKS bought a container molding plant in Atlanta from Constar International, which makes PVC, polypropylene and HDPE containers, primarily for the bottled water industry. Constar once owned Sewell Plastics, a company it purchased from founder Charles Sewell.
Recently, Sewell said, CKS also established PET blow molding capabilities in a former CKS warehouse in Atlanta to make one-half, 1- and 11/2-liter bottles for water. It was the company's first venture into PET molding, Sewell said. He declined to give purchase prices or capacity figures for the operations.
For Atlantis, the divestiture of the CKS/Rigal business, which operated plants in Orlando, Fla., and Dallas, is part of a corporate campaign to concentrate on its core businesses: PE stretch wrap and custom films, and molded plastic products.
``The sale of our joint venture interest in CKS/Rigal is part of our strategic plan to maximize performance from our core plastics operations,'' Anthony Bova, chief executive officer of Atlantis, said in a prepared statement.
In late August, Atlantis moved along the divestiture trail by selling its Western Pioneer Insurance group.
``While our association with Charles Sewell and CKS has been a good one, the joint venture also did not fit well in our efforts to streamline our core,'' said Atlantis spokesman Richard Hurwitz. ``We are continuing to look at everything we do to ensure that it is worth the time, money and energy we put in, and that it is an area in which we can make an impact.''
Atlantis ranked 22nd in Plastics News' September 1994 survey of North American film and sheet manufacturers, with related sales of $175 million. The molded products division manufactures profiles, and injection and blow molded products for the appliance, automotive, agricultural, dairy, recreational vehicle and other industries.
Sewell said he would ``wait for the dust to settle'' from the acquisitions before deciding on any more steps for CKS to take.
CKS was 31st on Plastics News' 1994 survey of North American blow molders, with $38 million in annual blow molding sales.
