Heritage Bag acquires Himolene Inc.
CARROLLTON, TEXAS - Heritage Bag Co. of Carrollton has enhanced its presence in the can liner market by acquiring Himolene Inc. from Clorox Co. for an undisclosed price.
Almost all of Himolene's film products are made from high density polyethylene; Heritage is about one-third HDPE, with the rest linear low density PE.
``Buying Himolene makes us half HD and half LLD, which is where the [can liner] market is today,'' said Heritage President Carl Allen.
Danbury, Conn.-based Himolene operates plants in Rutland, Vt.; Tupelo, Miss.; West Chicago, Ill; and Bell, Calif. The firm employs 240 and has annual sales of about $70 million.
Adding Himolene gives Heritage more than 120 film extrusion lines. Heritage employs 640 and operates plants in Carrollton; Atlanta; Cincinnati; Bridgeport, N.J.; and Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. The firm posted sales of $160 million in 2001 and ranks as one of North America's 50 largest film and sheet manufacturers, according to a Plastics News industry survey.
Oakland, Calif.-based Clorox bought Himolene in 1999 as part of its purchase of plastic bag and consumer product maker First Brands Corp. Clorox operated Himolene as part of its Glad Products Co. division. Clorox had been shopping Himolene around since late last year, saying it was not a good fit for Clorox.
Cresline opening Washington pipe plant
EVANSVILLE, IND. - Cresline Plastic Pipe Co. Inc. will set up shop at a new plant in Chehalis, Wash., as Cresline-Northwest LLC.
Construction will begin in the next few weeks on the facility, Cresline Inc.'s sixth extrusion location, with completion scheduled this fall. The Evansville pipe manufacturer announced plans for the move last year, but did not have a site selected.
President Richard Schroeder could not be reached for comment. In a news release, he said the plant will be more than 60,000 square feet, with several times that amount for outside storage.
Forty employees will begin making PVC, chlorinated PVC and polyethylene pipe for use in irrigation, plumbing, water wells, fiber optics, and industrial and municipal markets. Schroeder expects to grow to 75 employees in the next few years. In addition to Washington, the facility also will serve customers in Montana, Idaho and Oregon.
Cresline extrudes pipe in Henderson, Ky.; Corsicana, Texas; Phoenix; Mechanicsburg, Pa.; and Council Bluffs, Iowa. In Plastics News' 2001 ranking, the firm had and an estimated $154 million in pipe sales.
Sonoco consolidates, shutting Calif. site
HARTSVILLE, S.C. - Sonoco Products Co. by June plans to close a leased, 60,000-square-foot bag plant it has operated since 1983 in Santa Maria, Calif.
Sonoco, which runs 10 bag lines there, said April 23 it will consolidate production at lower-cost polyethylene extrusion plants in Victoria, Texas; North Vernon, Ind.; Mount Olive, N.C.; Milesburg, Pa.; and Hartsville. Some of the 95 employees in Santa Maria will be offered transfers, and others will receive placement assistance.
Hartsville-based Sonoco has annual sales of about $2.6 million from industrial and consumer products and packaging services. The firm claims it is the largest domestic manufacturer of high density PE bags for grocery, retail and convenience stores. Its stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange.
Mitsubishi adding PET shrink film line
GREER, S.C. - A new supplier of copolyester PET shrink film is due to begin operating by the fourth quarter.
Mitsubishi Polyester Film LLC (Americas) is converting one of its PET film lines in Greer to make the fast-growing product. The line's capacity will be 10 million pounds per year, according to David Shupe, manager of sales and marketing for PET shrink film. The line will be able to switch to regular PET film, but Shupe expects it to be dedicated to shrink types about a year as Mitsubishi develops markets.
The company also is installing another PET film line at Greer, which should be done next spring. The projects will expand total PET film capacity at the site to 150 million pounds per year.
A key market for PET shrink film is sleeves for packaging that require high-end graphics. Demand is growing as much as 15 percent a year, estimated Bill Radlein, vice president of sales. That growth, along with increasing competition in conventional PET film markets, spurred Mitsubishi to convert a line to shrink types.
Major suppliers of copolyester PET shrink film in North America include Bonfet America Corp. and Klöckner Pentaplast of America Inc.
Shupe said Mitsubishi is investing a total of about $160 million at the Greer site, including an adhesives resin unit.