Conner Industries Inc., a maker of wood crates and pallets, is expanding in custom foam fabrication with the acquisition of Kirkland Sales Inc.
The purchase is the fifth in integrated packaging for Fort Worth, Texas-based Conner. The acquisition expands the company’s market share as an integrated transportation packaging provider combining wood, foam, plastics and corrugate components. Conner Industries has facilities in Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Alabama and Kentucky.
With the Kirkland location near Conner’s Garland, Texas, facility, the latter plans to consolidate capabilities to grow customer reach. The Garland site recently underwent a 53 percent expansion of its own to cover 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space and new ISO and AS certifications in anticipation of this acquisition. Both the move and the acquisition allow for expanded production capacity in the Dallas/Fort Worth market and enable Conner to provide a broader range of products. It also serves to increase efficiency for government and U.S. Department of Defense contracts.
"With its expertise in custom foam fabrication, as well as decades of experience fabricating gasket and plastic materials, Kirkland Sales serves as an ideal acquisition to broaden our integrated packaging offerings to both new and existing customers," said David Dixon, CEO of Conner Industries. "In addition to expanding into military, defense and other new verticals, this acquisition exemplifies Conner's commitment to providing customers with the ability to protect their goods throughout transportation and handling and is an important strategic development for us in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Conner continues to grow into new military, industrial, and manufacturing sectors."
In addition to this acquisition, Conner recently named Tito Robledo as general manager of its Guardian Packaging facility in Fort Worth. With two decades of experience in both the foam and packaging industries, Robledo brings a wealth of knowledge to enable the company to continue to grow in the integrated packaging space, both within the Dallas-Fort Worth area and nationwide.