Amcor Ltd. is spending US$30 million (C$38 million) on a Toronto-based rigid plastic container and closures maker in a move the company said will bring new technologies to the packaging giant.
Plastic Moulders Ltd. operates a single plant that has annual sales of approximately US$27.3 (C$35 million), Amcor said.
This latest purchase comes as Amcor also looks to increase its flexible packaging business in the Americas. Just last month, the company acquired Alusa in a US$435 million deal, a transaction that included four plants in Chile, Peru, Argentina and Colombia.
But the latest deal is about rigid packaging, and subsidiary Amcor Rigid Packaging is one of the world's largest players in that business with 61 facilities in 12 countries.
“This acquisition will continue our growth strategy,” said Mike Schmitt, Amcor Rigid Plastics president, in a statement. “Plastic Moulders' technologies and superior technical capabilities will strengthen our business portfolio.”
“We will be able to offer additional innovative products and services to customers globally,” he continued.
Plastic Moulders makes containers and closures for consumer packaged goods in health, beauty, food, pharmaceutical and industrial markets in North America.
Amcor also said the “acquisition will generate considerable synergies in terms of procurement, manufacturing costs and overhead.”
Amcor is one of the world's largest PET bottle makers and generates about a third of its sales in rigid plastics. North America accounts for 29 percent of its overall sales.
In acquiring Plastic Moulders, Amcor pointed to the company's established relationships with large, multinational companies as well as its new technologies including precision injection molding and in-mold labeling.
“The Amcor Rigid Plastics business has significant growth opportunities in market segments outside of the traditional non-alcoholic beverage markets,” Amcor CEO Ron Delia said in a statement.
Amcor wants to expand the rigids business by acquiring companies that have specialized manufacturing capabilities to broaden the company's product lineup, Delia said,