Resin distribution firms Marco Polo International Inc. and Global Plastics LP have merged and taken on global trading firm Itochu International Inc. as a partner.
The combined firm will operate as MGI International LLC. Marco Polo of Melville, N.Y., and Global of Manchester, N.H., will continue to sell and operate under separate brands. MGI's headquarters will be in Melville.
Itochu, a Tokyo-based global trader of chemicals, minerals and many other products, will own "a significant minority stake" in MGI, officials added. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In an email to Plastics News, MGI officials said the combined firm will employ more than 100 and distribute almost 1 billion pounds of resin annually. They declined to provide a sales estimate in dollars.
Officials added that MGI will do about 70 percent of its sales in polyethylene, with 25 percent from polypropylene and the remainder from other commodity and engineering resins.
About 70 percent of the firm's sales will be in North America. They said that MGI works with major resin producers and has exclusive rights to an export packaging facility in Houston for the firm's export sales.
Itochu's investment in MGI "establishes a premier plastic resin distributor with industry-leading supplier and client networks and a robust growth profile," Marco Polo President Marco Liuzzo said in a Feb. 27 news release.
Marco Polo and Global "have always focused on taking great care of their customers, delivering innovative solutions and expanding their market reach," Itochu General Manager for Plastics Nobuyuki Tabata added.
"Joining MGI is one of the key moves to strengthen Itochu's plastic resin distribution capabilities in North America and beyond," Tabata said.
Officials said MGI will be a leading U.S.-based plastic resin distributor with a growing international footprint and existing sales in more than 50 countries.
Marco Polo was founded in 1985 by Nico Liuzzo, Marco's father. Marco Liuzzo became CEO in 2000. The firm distributes prime, generic prime and wide-spec grades of PE, PP, polystyrene, PVC and PET.
Global was launched in 2008 by Christopher Guimond, brother of David Guimond, who will serve as chief operating officer of MGI. David Guimond has been with Marco Polo since 2007, most recently as COO.
Global distributes branded prime, generic prime and off-grade grades of PE, PP, PS, PET and polycarbonate. Global also offers bioplastics and recycled and reprocessed grades of PE, PP and PS, as well as fixed-price contracts for hedging on PE and PP.
