TORONTO-PCL Plastics Corp. of Oakville, Ontario, near Toronto, has signed a letter of intent to purchase Linpac Flexible Packaging of Morristown, Tenn., and is conducting due diligence in the deal. Linpac extrudes film and converts it to retail carryout bags, zipper-closure delicatessen bags and tamper-evident zipper bags, according to Larry Crabtree, the operation's general manager. He would not disclose sales or other details of his firm. R.L. Bud Smith, PCL president and chief executive officer, confirmed the two companies have signed a letter of intent but declined comment on the proposed deal.
Crabtree said his operation's overall parent company, Linpac Mouldings Ltd. of Birmingham, England, has been reviewing its businesses around the world and has decided to divest those that are not strategic. Linpac Flexible is part of Linpac USA Group Inc. of Atlanta, which also has U.S. plants making expanded polystyrene packaging and a recycled paper mill in South Carolina and downstream paper box operations.
``We don't fit polystyrene or paper in the United States,'' Crabtree said in a telephone interview.
Linpac Mouldings recently acquired Ropak Corp., a Fullerton, Calif., molder of plastic pails and materials-handling containers. Ropak reports directly to the Birmingham head office.
Plastics News estimated PCL Plastics' sales last year at about $65 million.
The company has five plants in North America that extrude polyethylene film and convert it to bags.
