Quebec government financing agency Investissement Québec has taken a stake in container blow molder Plastique Micron Inc.
The agency and capital development fund Fonds de Solidarité together acquired 60 percent of Plastique Micron of Sainte-Claire, Quebec, for undisclosed terms. The investments should help the blow molder add additional production lines and make acquisitions, Plastique Micron President Bernard Poitras indicated in a Dec. 8 news release issued by the new investors.
Plastique Micron runs blow molding facilities in its home town of Sainte-Claire and in Orangeville, Ontario, where it acquired IMBC Blowmolding in 2014. Plastics News data estimates the company's total annual sales at about US$20 million, supported by about 52 blow molding lines. Company affiliate Imprimerie TML in Saint-Anselme, Quebec, provides container decorating services.
Plastique Micron is a diverse blow molder employing extrusion blow molding as well as injection-stretch, injection-blow and stretch-blow technologies. Main markets are pharmaceutical, cosmetics, food industries and industrial components. The firm can mold containers up to 8 liters and uses a range of polyethylene, polypropylene, PET and PVC resins.
“These investments entail adding production lines in our two plants and making acquisitions, more specifically, two or three plants in the next five years,” Poitras stated in a news release.
Plastique Micron was looking for new partners for a large infusion of funds for long-term growth, said Investissement Quebec spokeswoman Chantal Corbeil in a phone interview. She said her agency typically invests in Quebec firms for seven to 10 years.
Plastique Micron was founded in 1970. Managing shareholders Poitras and business development vice president Paul Desmarais retain 40 percent interest in the company.
“This acquisition is especially meaningful for Investissement Québec as it helps us keep the headquarters of an innovative, North American industry leader in Quebec,” noted Investissement Québec President and CEO Pierre Gabriel Cóté in a news release.
