Ivex Packaging Corp.'s appetite for acquisitions continues unsated, with the purchase of Avpex International Inc. of Newcastle, Ontario. This is the seventh acquisition in almost two years for Ivex and its subsidiaries.
Terms of the transaction, announced Aug. 8, were not released.
Avpex has annual sales of C$14 million (US$10.3 million) and manufactures thin-gauge biaxially oriented polystyrene film. Under the trade names Avpexine and Eurofilm, the film is used in window envelopes, disposable PS plates and bale overwrap.
Avpex employs 57 at its 45,000-square-foot plant. Company officials would not reveal the number of lines or the capacity at the Newcastle plant.
``This expands our market for window envelope film,'' Richard Cote, Ivex vice president and treasurer, said in a telephone interview.
Ivex plans to enter a related agreement with Multiplastics Inc. of Westerville, Ohio. Multiplastics claims to be one of the world's largest distributors and converters of thin-gauge films.
Ivex officials would not comment on the type of agreement or what it entailed. Cote would not confirm that the deal is an acquisition, saying only that the two companies are customers and joint venture partners.
However, Ivex's news release states, ``The acquisition is the latest development in a global strategic partnership between Multiplastics and Ivex that began in 1989 with the formation of their European joint venture, Multiplastics (Europe) Ltd.''
Lincolnshire, Ill.-based Ivex expects its partnership with Multiplastics to bring improvements to Avpex in the manufacturing process and in service capability.
Ivex says it is the world's largest manufacturer of BOPS sheet and film. It sells film and sheet externally, but also uses some sheet in-house for thermoforming applications. With seven extrusion facilities, Ivex produces more than 300 million pounds of plastic sheet and film each year.
Earlier this year, Ivex acquired M&R Plastics Inc. of Laval, Quebec, while Ivex subsidiary Plastofilm Industries Inc. purchased 50 percent of an Allplax Inc. facility in Salinas, Puerto Rico. These transactions are expected to boost sales by $28.1 million.
Ivex has more than 1,500 employees and 10 plants in North America. Its main business includes extruded PS sheet and thermoformed OPS containers, which are sold to the grocery store, fast-food and food-service markets for packaging delicatessen foods, salads, bakery goods and other food products.
The firm estimated its thermoforming sales at $160 million, placing it third in Plastics News' 1997 North American thermoformers ranking. The firm had $480 million in corporate sales last year.