Compounder RTP Co. has bolstered its presence in finished plastic products by acquiring custom film maker Wiman Corp.
No purchase price was disclosed in the deal, which was announced Sept. 21 by Winona, Minn.-based RTP. Wiman employs 55 at a 105,000-square-foot plant in Sauk Rapids, Minn. The 44-year-old firm makes films based on PVC, polyurethane, polyethylene and polypropylene for medical, industrial and specialty markets.
Wiman's medical films are used in intravenous bags and blood-pressure cuffs, while its industrial films can be found in pond liners, floor coverings and tool bags. Specialty uses for its films include helmet liners and CD sleeves. The company's customers include DuPont Co., 3M Corp., Tyco International, Johnson & Johnson and Hewlett-Packard.
Wiman serves companies that need specialty runs in quantities that often are lower than industry averages.
The firm expects to post sales of about $20 million in 2006 and has enjoyed double-digit growth rates in recent years, officials said.
``From a cultural point of view, [RTP and Wiman] have similar values,'' RTP business management Vice President Tom Markey said in a phone interview. ``Wiman also parallels us in being a specialty producer with a lot of customer focus.''
Wiman ``will benefit from RTP's sales and marketing infrastructure, leadership in specialty compounding and international presence,'' said Wiman President Peter Ploumidis, who will remain with the firm.
Ploumidis and Wiman executives Bill Parsons and John Bittner bought Wiman in 2000 from Federated Department Stores, which acquired the firm when it bought Fingerhut Corp. Fingerhut had opened the plant in 1962 as a maker of automotive seat covers.
Parsons will remain with the firm as executive vice president, while Bittner is leaving to pursue other business opportunities.
RTP began making finished plastic products in 2004 when it opened a commercial sheet operation in Winona. Most of the firm's sheet output has been polycarbonate-based. The acquisition of Wiman marks RTP's first move into the PVC market.
Markey said RTP also will benefit from the Wiman deal via Wiman's experience in laminate technology, which might be applied in RTP's sheet unit.
He added that, regarding future acquisitions, RTP ``will remain proactive in looking for growing, profitable companies in plastic materials, including film and sheet.''
RTP employs more than 600 worldwide at four U.S. plants and plants in France, China and Singapore. The firm expects to post sales of more than $250 million in 2006.
Custom compounds made by RTP are based on more than 60 engineering resins for applications requiring color, conductive, flame-retardant, high-temperature, shielding, structural and wear-resistant properties.