Canadian printing and media conglomerate Transcontinental Inc. continues to expand its footprint in plastic packaging through acquisition.
The Montreal-based firm bought Multifilm Packaging Corp. of Elgin, Ill., on March 7 for undisclosed terms. The deal was its sixth foray into plastic packaging since 2014.
"This continues our strategic growth organically and by acquisition," Transcontinental spokeswoman Katherine Chartrand said in a phone interview.
Multifilm specializes in piece-wraps and high barrier flexible packaging for candy, snacks and dry foods markets. It runs two large extrusion lines and can perform metallization and de-metallization of its cast-extruded film. De-metallization involves removing the thin metal coating from a specified area of metallized film to create a see-through window.
Multifilm employs about 70. Chartrand did not disclose annual sales for the Elgin-based business but said sales will be added to Transcontinental's packaging sales that reached C$308 million (US$237.2 million) last year. Overall, Transcontinental logged sales of about C$2 billion (US$1.54 billion) for its fiscal year ended Oct. 31.
With the latest acquisition, Transcontinental's packaging business has grown to about 1,000 employees.
"This transaction allows us to enter new high-end confectionery packaging niches and to bolster our offering in this market," stated Transcontinental President and CEO Francois Olivier in a news release.
Multifilm's aluminum foil printing and demetallization capabilities are new to the company. Transcontinental will retain the four previous owners who also managed Multifilm since 2008.
"Thanks to our innovative packaging solutions and solid expertise, our company enjoys a unique position in the confectionery market and will undoubtedly reinforce TC Transcontinental Packaging's presence in this vertical," stated Multifilm President Chris Rogers in a news release.
Transcontinental has about 6,500 employees in Canada and the United States.
