In a move that is something of a homecoming for some, All-Plastics LLC is expanding with the acquisition of the Kerrville, Texas, division of medical device manufacturer Vention Medical, the companies announced Sept. 19.
The deal, for an undisclosed amount, was finalized Sept. 8, said All-Plastics President Thomas Houdeshell — who actually predicted it years earlier.
Back in 2010, the Kerrville facility was known as Atek Plastics, part of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Atek Medical Group where Houdeshell was president, and which was a finalist for the Plastics News Processor of the Year award. The custom injection molder was purchased by Vention Medical in November 2011. By 2013, Houdeshell was named president of All-Plastics, but he already had his eye on the Kerrville plant.
The facility didn't really fit with the other part of the Vention business, he said, with other plants more focused on assembly and packaging and Kerrville solidly in the manufacturing and processing realm.
“This facility was pretty much its own little island,” Houdeshell said. “I knew it was just a matter of time… Maybe that came across as arrogant at the time, but I just knew the business, the inner workings of the place and the business.”
So in July, when Vention announced its plan to close the Kerrville plant by March 2017, Houdeshell and Addison, Texas-based All-Plastics were ready to scoop up the medical molding facility and its 70 employees.
Vention and CEO Dan Croteau “bent over backwards” to make the speedy deal happen, Houdeshell said, especially since it meant keeping experienced plastics employees on the job and in Texas.
“Adding this group of highly talented personnel to our established team is not only a win for us, but also a win for the city of Kerrville and the surrounding communities,” he said. “This acquisition creates a tremendous amount of opportunity for us, for the precision component manufacturing supply chain in this area. Feeding this region is really going to help us support our customer base and help us form new relationships and partner with customers to come. It's an exciting time to acquire this business and grow.”
