Preformed Line Products Co., a maker of components for the energy and communications industries, has bought nearly all the assets of fellow northeast Ohio injection molder Pilot Plastics Inc.
The companies have worked together on projects for 15 years.
Pilot has 34 mostly high-tonnage injection molding machines in Peninsula, Ohio, including six presses added just last year, according to Pilot's website. Pilot's markets include industrial, housewares, electrical utilities, agriculture and commercial janitorial.
The acquisition will give PLP "much-needed additional capacity to produce critical infrastructure components for … high-speed broadband deployment projects, including advanced FTTH (fiber to the home) and 5G networks," John Hofstetter, PLP's executive vice president of U.S. operations, said in a recent news release.
PLP said it plans to gradually transition some manufacturing and additional capacity to Pilot throughout the year. The operations are just 28 miles apart.
Mick Jendrisak, Pilot Plastics' president and CEO, said in the release that PLP will help improve Pilot's lead times and add support for Pilot's international customers. Jendrisak, who will manage the Peninsula plant, did not respond to Plastics News' requests for more information.
Pilot was founded in 2001. Its products include moldings for residential riding and push lawn mowers, charging stations for electric vehicles, 5G broadband cable organizers, storage containers, toys including powered vehicles and playhouses, and "miniature to massive" trash cans and utility buckets, its website says.
PLP makes products to protect, upgrade or replace aging infrastructure such as cables and wire for energy, communications and cable networks. Its markets also include electric vehicles, solar and inspection services. Its 90,000-square-foot international headquarters sits on 18 acres in Mayfield, a Cleveland suburb.
Founded in 1947, PLP now employs more than 3,000 people at 20 operations internationally and is publicly traded on Nasdaq. The company said net sales increased 21 percent to $467.1 million for the first nine months of 2022, and reported profit of $37.9 million, up from $26.8 million for the same period in 2021.
Last year was an especially busy one for PLP.
In January, it paid about $11.2 million to buy Maxxweld Conectores Elétricos Ltda., a São José dos Pinhais, Brazil-based maker of substation connector systems and accessory hardware.
In March, PLP bought automotive injection molder Holplast sro of Prostějov, Czech Republic, for $5.3 million.
In October, the company announced that it was investing $16 million to expand its injection molding plant in Rogers, Ark., by 82,000 square feet, bringing it to 423,000 square feet. The company said the expansion was needed because of strong business growth and would allow it to add to its injection molding abilities and "provide much-needed relief in the warehousing and shipping areas of the plant."
Also that month, PLP acquired Delta Conectores SA de CV in Aguascalientes, Mexico, another manufacturer of substation connector systems and accessory hardware.
In December, it squeezed in another purchase, this one close to home. PLP paid $2.5 million for a 17,000-square-foot building on 5 acres across the street from its Mayfield headquarters. The company did not disclose its plans for the site.