EXETER, CALIF. (Dec. 30, 2:30 p.m. ET) — Peninsula Packaging Co. LLC has expanded its agricultural thermoforming business by acquiring two facilities from Berkley Operations LLC doing business as Packaging Plus LLC.
Peninsula gets thermoforming plants in Yakima, Wash., and Hollister, Calif. They complement existing Peninsula thermoforming operations in Exeter, Calif., and Wilson, N.C., said Peninsula spokesman Mark Semer in a telephone interview from the New York office of public relations firm Kekst and Co.
Semer said the acquisition expands Peninsula's stake in berries, salads, specialty and other produce. Peninsula has been a major player in fresh produce and bakery thermoformed packaging products. It is integrated into sheet extrusion.
“This transaction enhances the service offering for our customers by expanding our geographic footprint and increasing the breadth of our product offering,” noted Peninsula CEO Ed Byrne in a Dec. 29 news release. “We are very excited to begin working with the team at the agricultural thermoforming division.”
Packaging Plus retains thermoforming plants at its headquarters in La Mirada, Calif., and in Louisville, Ky., according to Plastics News' thermoformer survey data. Although officials did not disclose the number of thermoforming lines bought by Peninsula, Packaging Plus listed 29 in total in its survey form and counts food packaging and agricultural markets as key. It says on its website that it also offers injection molding services.
Peninsula had 2009 sales of $85 million, the firm states on its website. The company was established in 2002. It is a major user of recycled post-consumer PET.
In 2010 Peninsula said it used in excess of 25 million pounds of recycled PET annually, about a quarter of its total thermoforming capacity. It also has a large photovoltaic solar farm in Exeter that supplies power to its thermoforming facility there.
Packaging Plus also emphasizes sustainable strategies. According to its website, it consumes more than 30 million pounds of recycled PET per year and the average post-consumer content of its packaging exceeds 50 percent.
Packaging Plus reduces waste through package design and manages more than 35,000 reusable pallets in its global supply chain. The company was established in 1983 as a packaging design house and has since grown to an integrated thermoformer with extrusion capability. Its offshore facilities are in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Shenzhen, China.
New York private equity firm Odyssey Investment Partners LLC bought Peninsula in early 2010. It is a middle-market investor with about $2 billion under management.
“We have been pleased to support Peninsula's growth over the past two years and are excited to work with management as the company expands its industry-leading position,” noted Odyssey managing principal Craig Staub in a news release.
