Amcor Ltd. is putting a second round of funding into ePac Holdings LLC, a flexible packaging business with a unique business model based on digitalization.
Amcor, one of the largest flexible packaging companies in the world, will invest up to $45 million more in ePac, a move that follows an initial investment in April 2021 that was estimated to be $10 million to $15 million at the time.
EPac has spent that last six years building a network of 25 locations around the world to provide short- and medium-run packaging services using digital printing. The company uses the HP Indigo digital press technology. This on-demand service allows for high-definition printing and the elimination of printing plate fees.
Annual sales for ePac are now over $200 million annually and have grown by more than 600 percent during the past three years, Amcor said.
"Since our initial investment last year, we have been deeply impressed with ePac's focused and innovative business model centered around deploying a very high level of digitalization and customization," said Ian Wilson, executive vice president of strategy and development at Amcor.
Amcor pointed to ePac's speed and service capabilities for small-to-medium customers in making the additional investment.
"We believe this investment complements Amcor's existing digital activities and is well aligned with our vision that packaging will continue to become more personalized and more connected, as well as more sustainable," Wilson said.
Amcor, which also makes rigid plastic packaging, had annual sales of $15 billion in fiscal year 2022. The company employs 44,000 people at 220 sites in 43 countries.
EPac, meanwhile, has expanded over time to include locations in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Austria, Poland, Ghana, Indonesia and Australia. And the company has even more growth in mind.
It was just in early August that the company revealed plans to "accelerate its growth and transition to a global enterprise over the next 18 months."
This includes the establishment of 11 new sales and manufacturing locations around the globe. "To manage our growth and operations our company is transitioning from ePac Holdings, to ePac Global with an infrastructure to optimize market knowledge and growth in each country we are in," CEO Jack Knott said in a statement.