When KLW Plastics Inc. launched in 2005, the fledgling blow molded container maker hoped to capture some market share from companies like Bway Corp. and other competitors.
Now, after seeing KLW grow into a three-location business with sales of $27 million in annual sales, Bway is gaining some market share of its own through the purchase of the Monroe, Ohio-based company.
Bway acquired KLW Plastics, a maker of tight-head plastic containers ranging in size from 1 to 7 gallons and United Nations-rated packaging for the food, chemical and agricultural markets. KLW uses high density polyethylene.
“This business is an excellent fit with the company's core market, add-on strategy. In addition to sales growth, this acquisition expands our product offering with innovative new products which further support the Company's goal of positioning Bway as the premier supplier for rigid general line packaging,” said Bway CEO Ken Roessler in a statement.
Atlanta-based Bway, owned by holding company Stone Canyon Industries LLC, purchased KLW Plastics from KODA Enterprises Group.
Bway, which makes both plastic and metal rigid containers has 25 plants in the United States and Canada. The acquisition of KLW adds three more, including Monroe, Atlanta and Houston.
The company announced expansion of its Monroe location less than three years ago, increasing by 25,000 square feet for additional office, manufacturing and warehouse space.
That followed the opening of the Atlanta plant in 2012 and the Houston site in 2008, which tripled capacity at the time.
KLW's tight-head containers can use 60 to 100 percent post-consumer resin. The company makes both rigid and semi-rigid containers.
It was only last month that Stone Canyon Industries finalized the purchase of Bway from private investment firm Platinum Equity for $2.4 billion. Platinum Equity acquired Bway in 2012, and added Ropak Packaging to the fold the following year.
KLW ranked 52nd on the most recent Plastics News listing of blow molders in North America with is annual sales of $27 million. Bway ranked 21st on the same list with an estimated $142 million in blow molding sales in North America, according to the list.