Logoplaste SA has outlined plans to expand its operation in Yorkville, Wis., less than one month after Carlyle Group announced it had agreed to sell its majority stake in the blow molder.
The bottle maker, based in Cascais, Portugal, leases roughly 90,000 square feet of space in a Yorkville industrial park and plans to double that amount by leasing another building there. Most of the additional space will be used for warehousing products, and officials said they will build three silos to house raw material. Logoplaste also told Yorkville village officials it plans to add three water chillers.
The village approved the plans this month.
The Yorkville site is one of more than 60 the company runs in 16 countries; most of the operations are inside or near customers' plants. Logoplaste plans to invest $2 million to $3 million to double its footprint in Yorkville and add 10 workers to its staff of 20, according to a March 11 report in The Journal Times in nearby Racine, Wis.
The operation has only been at the site for three years. In 2018, Logoplaste relocated two lines there from Plainfield, Ill., to be closer to customer SC Johnson & Son Inc. in Racine. Other major customers include Nestlé SA, Coca-Cola Co., Heineken NV, L'Oreal SA and Procter & Gamble Co.
Magda Merali, Logoplaste internal communications coordinator, said via email: "Due to confidentially clauses, we are unable to take questions or provide information on the project."
On its website, Logoplaste said it has more than tripled its "activity" in North America in the past five years. In June, officials in Lima, Ohio, approved Logoplaste's plans to invest $35 million to build a 100,000-square-foot plant nearby in Perry Township. The company recently began hiring for that plant.
Investment firm Carlyle — a familiar name in the plastics industry — bought into Logoplaste in 2016, but announced in February it is selling its 60 percent stake to the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. According to a Carlyle news release, Ontario Teachers' is one of the world's leading private equity investors and has invested in more than 500 funds and companies. Last year, the plan had net assets of around $204.7 billion.
A year ago, Reuters reported Logoplaste was valued at around $730 million. The company employs roughly 2,100.
The remaining 40 percent of Logoplaste will continue to be owned by founder and Chairman Filipe de Botton and partner Alexandre Relvas.
In other news, the company announced March 15 that it named Luis Almeida chief marketing officer. Paula Rodrigues will take over his position as chief financial officer.