Caterer Gate Gourmet acquires deSter
RESTON, VA. - Airline caterer Gate Gourmet Inc. of Reston has signed a deal to acquire deSter Holding BV of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which will mark Gate Gourmet's official move into thermoforming.
The transaction is expected to be finalized in August, according to a deSter official. DeSter is known for its reusable and disposable plastic airline products like trays and cutlery. Gate Gourmet purchased the firm from private equity group EQT Partners AB of Stockholm, Sweden.
DeSter operates thermoforming plants in Prachinburi, Thailand, and Hoogstraten, Belgium, controller Dan Whitehead said in a telephone interview from deSter Corp. regional headquarters in Roswell, Ga.
DeSter had 2006 sales of 235 million euros ($309 million). In addition to its thermoforming operations, deSter operates assembly units and warehouses throughout Europe and the United States, officials said.
Toledo Molding & Die closes Ohio plant
TOLEDO, OHIO - Auto supplier Toledo Molding & Die Inc. will close one of its Delphos, Ohio, plants later this year in a restructuring move, cutting 115 jobs.
The company notified the state of Ohio, and Delphos officials said they will begin permanent layoffs in late August, with the plant closing by Oct. 1 and its work shifting to other locations.
Toledo Molding & Die, based in Toledo, will continue operating its second Delphos plant.
The injection molder has four other plants in Ohio and one in Alabama.
Graham Packaging, Hershey site closes
OAKDALE, CALIF. - As chocolate maker Hershey Co. gives the kiss of death to its production facility in Oakdale, blow molder Graham Packaging Co. LP of York, Pa., will shutter its on-site production facility there.
Hershey announced it would close the Oakdale site by January, according to the Stanislaus Economic Development and Workforce Alliance, a group that serves in the same county as Oakdale. Graham makes bottles there for Hershey's syrup.
The chocolatier has operated at that site for more than 40 years, said Doug Sweetland, economic development director for the alliance. Hershey made Kisses-brand chocolate and other products there, as the plant was located centrally to dairies. Hershey announced it will move that operation to Mexico.
Graham Packaging operates blow molding machines in 97,930 square feet in the Hershey plant.
Spokesman Don Sarvey said Graham would cease its production by the end of the year. The firm has fewer than 14 employees in Oakdale, and they will be offered other positions or severance packages.
Graham operates a 238,000-square-foot plant in nearby Modesto, Calif. Officials said that among the firm's 86 manufacturing sites, one-third are on-site production arrangements.
Tri-Par combines tool, molding shops
GENEVA, ILL. - Custom injection molder and mold maker Tri-Par Tool & Mold Corp. has consolidated all its operations in one location, eliminating the nearly 20-mile drive between its tooling and molding sites.
The 35-employee company has seen its molding contracts steadily increase over the years, said owner Bill Plocinski in a July 11 telephone interview, while the tooling side of the business has fluctuated as more work went to Asian competitors. The company had its tool shop in Streamwood, Ill., and molding in Geneva.
With more molding work, more sample and short-run production and a higher number of molds being used in-house, it made sense to bring the two operations to one location, he said. Tri-Par makes most of its tools for outside customers, but also uses the molding facility for testing.
When the 4,500-square-foot facility adjacent to the Geneva molding shop became available, Plocinski decided it was time to unite the two sites.
Tri-Par began moving equipment to Geneva at the end of April. All of the tool-shop employees also made the move.