Mechanicsburg, Pa.-based Universal Protective Packaging Inc. has been acquired by its management team and Key Equity Capital.
Universal thermoforms packaging for electronic components susceptible to damage from electrostatic discharge. The firm employs 100 at its 70,000-square-foot plant. It has seven thermoforming lines, which process PVC, PET and glycol-modified PET sheet.
Universal had been owned by Metapoint LP, a Boston-based venture capital group, said Eric Sharbaugh, Universal's vice president of sales. Metapoint had financed growth at the thermoformer, but then decided to put it up for sale, he said by telephone.
Key Equity Capital is the private equity investment affiliate of KeyCorp, a financial services company based in Cleveland.
Partnering with Key Equity Capital will give Universal the financial backing to expand internationally and nationally. Sharbaugh declined to give specifics but said the company plans to ``be aggressive in expansion.''
Universal's plans to expand this year could be by acquisition, he said.
``Our new partnership with Key Equity Capital will provide the resources necessary to grow the company through continued innovation in packaging design,'' Rod Rumberger, president and chief executive officer of Universal, said in a news release.
Universal placed 64th in Plastics News' ranking of North American thermoformers, with estimated sales of $8.5 million last year.
Terms of the February sale were not disclosed.
