ST. LOUIS (March 12, 1:30 p.m. ET) — Blow molder Alpha Packaging Inc. has acquired bottle manufacturer Vanga Products (Plastics) Inc. of Surrey, British Columbia, to expand its capacity in the Pacific Northwest.
Vanga specializes in bottles and jars for the nutritional, pharmaceutical, household chemical and food markets.
The company does injection and extrusion blow molding for high density polyethylene, and injection stretch blow molding for PET products, at its 60,000 square-foot plant, which employs about 60 workers and houses 23 machines.
The plant will immediately begin operating as a branch of Alpha Packaging.
Alpha, based in St. Louis, manufactures HDPE and PET containers for the nutritional, pharmaceutical, personal care, household chemical, and niche food and beverage markets. Its Technigraph decoration division offers container decorating services for personal-care customers.
With the acquisition, Alpha now employs about 800 and operates eight facilities in North America and one in The Netherlands.
The newly-acquired plant will serve the Pacific Northwest market, an area currently covered by Alpha's Midwest and Salt Lake City locations.
Alpha was No. 18 in Plastics News' most recent ranking of North American blow molders, with annual sales of $189 million.
In 2010, the company was acquired by private equity firm Irving Place Capital. Later that year, Alpha acquired Cleveland-based Progressive Plastics.
Vanga was founded in 1974 by Gerry VanGaalen, who announced his retirement in connection with the sale.
