Manner Resins Inc., an Annapolis, Md.-based broker of recycled resins, has a new owner — its third in little more than four years. But the new ownership marks a homecoming of sorts.
Casella Waste Systems Inc. of Rutland, Vt., on Jan. 31 announced the sale of Manner to a management group. Casella had bought Manner as part of its 1999 purchase of KTI Inc. KTI, in turn, had acquired Manner in late 1996.
Diane Goodman has been president of Manner throughout all the changes, and is part of the buy-back group.
"We were noncore, probably from the beginning," Goodman said of KTI and Casella. "We always have been in the higher-end commodity resin market."
The parting of ways has not been bitter, though.
"Everybody wins here," Goodman said in a Feb. 1 telephone interview, adding that her company benefited from its ties to the much larger outfits.
"We now have a much more stable line of credit and more access to credit," she said. "We have grown enormously through the relationships. We are in a much better position to attack the market."
One advantage of the new change to old ownership will be Manner's ability to make all of its own decisions.
"Our position in the marketplace is now greatly enhanced by the company's ability to react quickly to the needs of our customers and suppliers," Goodman said in a news release.
Manner handles more than 10 million pounds per month of mainly post-industrial plastics. The company, which employs about 12, brokers high and low density polyethylene, PET, polypropylene and polystyrene.
Meanwhile, Casella Vice President Joe Fusco said his company intends to concentrate on its traditional waste-management services.
"The plastics resin business is not our particular specialty," he said in a Feb. 1 telephone interview.
When Casella bought KTI, FCR Plastics, a major recycler and regrinder, also was part of the deal. KTI bought FCR in 1998.
Casella announced in its fourth-quarter report that it was selling FCR. However, Fusco said in a Feb. 1 telephone interview that it was "premature to identify specific businesses" that are up for sale.
FCR reported $14 million in plastics recycling sales in the fiscal year ended April 30, 1999, and placed 19th in Plastics News' most recent ranking of North American plastics recyclers and brokers.
Manner Resins was not ranked, although Goodman said the company's annual sales are in the $20 million range.
Casella, which is publicly traded on Nasdaq, reported $337 million in sales for the fiscal year ended April 30.