Packaging thermoformer Placon Corp. has purchased custom packaging manufacturer Brookdale Plastics Inc. for an undisclosed amount, the companies announced July 20.
Brookdale's focus on retail and medical markets, and its location — close to the booming biomedical businesses of Minneapolis — make it a logical choice to continuing to grow Placon, which focuses on food, retail, and medical packaging and is best known for pioneering and patenting clamshell packaging in the 1960s.
“The acquisition will advance Placon's leadership position in both the medical and retail industries,” said Dan Mohs, Placon chairman and CEO. “By combining Brookdale's cost-effective tooling solutions with Placon's world-class matched metal, high-precision tooling, we will become the first supplier of choice for custom packaging solutions in the industry.”
Brookdale is a privately held custom thermoformer founded in 1963. Brookdale's 74,000-square-foot facility in Plymouth, Minn., west of Minneapolis, houses 3-D printers, an in-house tooling department and a Class 100,000 clean room, employing 78.
Placon is 17th in the most recent Plastics News rankings of North American thermoformers, with $135 million in annual sales. The company is headquartered in Madison, Wis., and has facilities in Springfield, Mass., focused on injection molding and Elkhart, Ind., for medical work. It has about 500 employees.
In June, Placon secured a patent for a tamper-evident clamshell that prevents packaging from being reused with counterfeit retail goods. Already in use by the company, the clear plastic clamshell has a snap feature on the inside of the lid, holding a graphic card in place. When opened, perforations are broken and the card is locked in place and it is obvious to the consumer that the package has been previously opened.