Novolex is acquiring Heritage Bag Co. in a deal that adds six manufacturing facilities and continues the company's growth since being acquired by its current owners four years ago.
The leader of Roanoke, Texas-based Heritage calls the move an ideal fit, while the head of Novolex said the acquisition is important for his company's future.
“I believe becoming part of Novolex will allow Heritage and its employees to continue to prosper and grow,” Heritage CEO Carl Allen said in a statement.
Heritage bills itself as a third-generation privately held company that's been in operation since 1973.
Its business is plastic trash bags, can liners and food bags for institutional and commercial customers. The company's product portfolio also includes items such as medical waste bags and ice bucket liners. Customers include those in the health care, food service, hospitality, education, building services, transportation, industrial and office building markets.
“This is very important to our future,” Novolex CEO Stan Bikulege said in a statement. “The HBC team and products are a great fit for Novolex and we will soon integrate our existing can liner business with the HBC team.”
News of the Heritage deal comes just months after Novolex acquired Wisconsin Film & Bag Inc. of Shawano, Wis., and its 175 or so employees.
Heritage adds nearly 800 employees at manufacturing sites in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Dallas, Cincinnati, Atlanta and Philadelphia.
“It's an ideal fit,” Allen said in his statement. Novolex leadership is very much aligned with our principals at Heritage. They are committed to employee's welfare as well as the communities where they live and work. That's very important to me and it was an essential requirement for the transaction.”
Wind Point Partners acquired Novolex, then called Hilex Poly Co. LLC, in 2012 from TPG Growth, according to news reports at that time. TPG Growth, in November, then made a minority investment back in the company, according to Novolex.
Acquiring Heritage pushes Novolex's film and sheet sales significantly higher. According to the most recent rankings by Plastics News, Novolex ranked 13th among North American film and sheet makers with estimated sales of $600 million. That ranking also listed Wisconsin Film & Bag sales separately at an estimated $62 million, and 22-ranked Heritage at an estimated $380 million.
Novolex, which has packaging operations beyond plastic, including paper packaging, indicated it now has more than 6,000 employees in 43 locations in North America. Sales are $2.3 billion annually.