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.
In a March 12 news release announcing the acquisition, Alpha said Vanga does injection and extrusion blow molding with high density polyethylene, and injection stretch blow molding for PET products.
Vanga's 60,000-square-foot plant and warehouse facility employs about 60 workers and houses 23 machines.
The plant will begin operating immediately as a branch of Alpha Packaging.
Alpha, headquartered in St. Louis, manufactures HDPE and PET containers for the nutritional, pharmaceutical, personal-care, household-chemical, and niche food and beverage markets. Its Technigraph decorating 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 September 2010, the company was acquired by middle-market private equity firm Irving Place Capital of New York.
Later that year, Alpha acquired Cleveland-based Progressive Plastics Inc.
Vanga was founded in 1974 by Gerry VanGaalen, who announced his retirement in connection with the sale.
