A group of plant executives and a local investment bank have purchased Covalence Specialty Coatings LLC's manufacturing plant in Doswell, Va. Terms were not disclosed.
New owner Specialty Coating & Laminating LLC is a manufacturer of polymer extrusion and aqueous coated paper and paperboard products, mainly for the flexible packaging, food-service and paper industries.
SC&L was founded by Glen Allen, Va., investment firm Smither & Co. Capital Markets LLC, which has a regional presence in metal manufacturing and recycling. SC&L's top officials are longtime associates of the former Covalence plant, including CEO Geoff Baldwin, Chief Financial Officer Bill Berry and plant manager Rick Ganzert.
The acquisition's primary backer was Envest, a private equity firm in Virginia Beach, Va., with metals companies among its holdings, said Smither & Co.'s president, Ken Smither.
“We've got a lot of experience here, both on the floor and in the office, as well as in the machinery and the facility that we have,” Baldwin said in an Aug. 13 phone interview. “Our hourly floor people average 16 years on the job.”
SC&L products include poly-laminated roll wrap and heat-sealable liners, extrusion coatings and laminates, coated woven and non-woven synthetic reinforcements, and composite can components.
Covalence's parent company, Berry Plastics Corp. of Evansville, Ind., in January announced plans to shutter the site and lay off 66 people. The new owners have agreed to keep 30 employees and add as many as 70 over three years, according to a July 27 news release from the Hanover County, Va., economic development office.
The site encompasses three buildings totaling 250,000 square feet spread over 18 acres with two rail sidings. Equipment includes 136-inch extrusion coating and laminating lines; a two-station, 136-inch aqueous coating or printing line; a 136-inch small roll rewinder; an 80-inch precision sheeter; a 72-inch printer/ rewinder line; and flat-bed die-cutting presses.
Baldwin said the firm expects growth in folding cartons and roll and industrial packaging. “Anything that needs a moisture barrier, we have one of the only facilities in the world that has both extrusion coating and laminating and aqueous coating under one roof,” he said, with width capabilities of up to 136 inches, in 3- to 50-mil roll or sheet.
SC&L will receive workforce training services under a $10,000 grant from Virginia's Jobs and Investment Program.