Packaging leader ProAmpac and diverse processor Tekni-Plex set the pace for plastics mergers and acquisitions with multiple deals in the second half of 2021.
Cincinnati-based ProAmpac, a unit of Pritzker Private Capital, made five second-half deals and eight in 2021 overall. Three of the firm's second-half deals took place in Ireland, where it acquired Fispak Ltd., a maker and distributor of food packaging; distribution firm Irish Flexible Packaging; and Euroflex TEO, a supplier of high-barrier flexible packaging.
ProAmpac also acquired flexible packaging and printing firm Ultimate Packaging of Grimsby, England, and Prairie State Group, a maker of flexible packaging and labels based in Franklin Park, Ill., during the second half of the year.
In a news release, ProAmpac officials said that the PSG acquisition "strengthens [the firm's] flexible and sustainable packaging offerings for the food and pet food markets and expands its labeling capabilities."
Tekni-Plex of Wayne, Pa., made four second-half deals and now has made 17 since 2016. In the second half, the firm bought Colombian rigid packaging maker Grupo Phoenix; vented liners maker M-Industries LLC of Ada, Mich.; Keyes Packaging Group, a maker of fiber-based packaging products in Wenatchee, Wash.; and Mexicali, Mexico-based precision extruder Johnson Plastic Group.
Other firms making multiple second-half plastics deals included Tide Rock Holdings LLC, which bought injection molders Pikes Peak Plastics Co. LLC of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Altratek Plastics Inc. of Longmont, Colo. Altratek also makes tooling. Tide Rock kept its streak going in early 2022 by purchasing Plastic Molding Technology Inc., a well-known injection molder based in El Paso, Texas.
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based TriMas Corp. made a pair of deals, acquiring Omega Plastics Inc. and TFI Aerospace. Omega is an injection molder and mold maker, while TFI supplies fasteners.
Specialized Packaging Group made a pair of late-year deals, acquiring Packaging Concepts & Designs and Packaging Specialists Inc. Both Troy, Mich.-based PC&D and Phoenix-based PSI were owned by private equity firm O2 Investment Partners of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Private equity firm Core Industrial Partners LLC acquired three related companies specializing in 3D printing, equipment and materials. Those firms — 3DXTech LLC, Triton 3D LLC and Gearbox3D LLC — share a 68,000-square-foot facility in Grand Rapids, Mich.
C-P Flexible Packaging Inc. of York, Pa., also made three deals, acquiring Norcross, Ga.-based Sycamore Sales Inc. — which does business as Preferred Packaging, a maker of multilayer films and thermoformed containers — and then adding Fruth Custom Packaging Inc. and Cleanroom Film and Bag Inc., two rollstock and pouch makers with common ownership in Placentia, Calif.
In two cases, the hunter became the hunted in M&A. PPC Flexible Packaging LLC of Buffalo Grove, Ill., made its eighth deal in four years when it acquired Consumer Packaging Group Inc. of Hartland, Wis., a provider of prototypes and package samples for food and beverage markets. Shortly after that deal, PPC majority owner Morgan Stanley Capital Partners sold the firm to investment firm GTCR LLC of Chicago. PPC management will continue to own a minority stake.
Canadian auto components supplier Plasman Group bought an injection molding plant in Greer, S.C., from Chinese-owned Minghua USA. Later in the half, private equity firm MiddleGround Capital Group acquired Windsor, Ontario-based Plasman, which injection molds bumpers, fascia, grilles, exterior trim and subsystem components.