National Container Group (NCG) is adding plastics recycling to its North America business activities with the acquisition of Engineered Recycling Co. in Charlotte, N.C.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, except that ERC President and CEO Peter Suttoni will stay on board to oversee the integration. NCG is a subsidiary of Mauser Group, an industrial packaging maker based in Bruehl, Germany.
ERC reprocessed 95 million pounds of polypropylene and high density polyethylene — 70 percent of it post-industrial and 30 percent post-consumer — in its most recent fiscal year. The business ranks No. 28 among North American plastics recyclers, according to Plastics News' latest ranking.
The acquisition was announced April 1 — a day after Mauser said its subsidiary Mauser USA LLC bought 102-year-old Berenfield Containers, which manufactures steel and fiber drums at six U.S. sites.
ERC offers sorting, repelletizing, compounding and depolymerizing services at a 210,000-square-foot facility in Charlotte, where it says it has the two largest single-shaft shredders in North America, with each capable of handling 6,000 pounds of material per hour.
ERC has recycled NCG material for Mauser to use in production of its plastic drums since 2008. With estimated sales of $285 million, Mauser USA ranks No. 15 among blow molders, according to the Plastics News ranking.
Mauser started NCG in 1988 and describes its Chicago-based subsidiary as the first nationwide collection service for intermediate bulk containers (IBC). NCG now has a global collection network for empty industrial packaging, which is picked up and reconditioned for either reuse or recycling.
The acquisition of ERC aligns with Mauser's sustainability goals, NCG President and CEO Michael Chorpash said in a news release.
“We have successfully upgraded our market approach by offering full lifecycle services in Europe and South America and look forward to continually expanding our comprehensive service portfolio,” Chorpash added.
Suttoni said ERC and Mauser have had a very successful relationship to date.
“We are looking forward to working even more closely and benefiting from the synergies that will result from the combination of the companies,” he said.
Last month, Mauser Group made preliminary filings for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying that it wanted to raise an unspecified sum for debt reduction and general corporate purposes.
Mauser Group operates nearly 100 factories worldwide and is owned by the private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC, which bought it for $1.7 billion in 2014.