Brentwood Industries Inc. has purchased the production assets of Reynolds Packaging Group's medical thermoformed packaging factory in Downingtown, Pa., and will move the operation to Brentwood's headquarters plant in nearby Reading, Pa.
Brentwood announced the news Jan. 22, but said the deal closed Dec. 5. Terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition supports Brentwood's strategy to expand its medical thermoforming business, said Rich Partlow, general manager of the specialty products division. Brentwood will integrate some of the Reynolds thermoforming lines into its Reading plant. Partlow said the firm also is buying two Sencorp thermoforming machines, as it doubles the size of its Class 100,000 clean room in Reading. Brentwood also is increasing employment in sales and engineering.
The sterile thermoformed products include disposable packaging for surgical instruments, implants, and other medical items.
Brentwood is buying only the thermoforming operations at Downingtown, and will continue operating there as work is transferred to Reading during the next several months. Partlow said Brentwood plans to retain about 30 Reynolds employees.
Reynolds Packaging is closing down the rest of the Downingtown plastics factory — a high-speed printing operation to convert flexible packaging. A newspaper report in the Daily Local News in West Chester, Pa., said Reynolds Packaging Group's management told union workers Jan. 21 that the plant will close March 31. The newspaper quoted a staff representative for the United Steelworkers of America, who said 144 workers will be laid off.
Reynolds and USW officials could not be reached.
Brentwood makes heavy- and light-gauge products, and does pressure, twin-sheet and vacuum forming. Its thermoformed products include fenders and trim for tractor-trailer trucks, battery components and wheelbarrows.
Brentwood assumed all purchase orders from Reynolds Packaging, and the firms have worked closely to ensure a smooth transition, the release said.
Brentwood is No. 26 in Plastics News' most recent ranking of North American thermoformers, with 2007 sales of $66 million. Reynolds Packaging, based in Richmond, Va., is one of the largest North American thermoformers and film and sheet makers, with estimated sales of $1 billion for the combined segments, according to Plastics News data.
The firm is owned by Rank Group Ltd., a New Zealand investment group that bought Alcoa Inc.'s packaging and consumer unit early last year. After the deal closed, Reynolds Packaging closed a thermoforming site in Laval, Quebec.