Gelpac Inc., which produces film used in its multiwall paper bags, has secured a new investor that will allow it to seek out acquisitions.
Gelpac is owned primarily by Namakor Holdings LP, a long-term investment firm that relocated from Montreal to Tampa, Fla., a few years ago. The new investor, Tail End Capital Partners of Pittsburgh, allows Namakor to significantly increase its Gelpac ownership and provides capital for additional investments.
Abhinav Capoor, Namakor vice president of investments, said in a Sept. 24 phone interview that Marieville, Quebec-based Gelpac has a list of desired acquisitions in the United States — mainly in paper, though "we are very much open to poly as well."
Gelpac hopes to complete the first acquisition on its list by the end of 2022. It is particularly interested in Midwest companies, Capoor said.
Gelpac has a strong U.S. customer base, largely in the chemicals and food and beverage industries, both of which need film-lined bags, Capoor said.
"We have a lot of customers already in the U.S., and we expect that volume to increase," he said.
Gelpac's sole U.S. plant, in Haverhill, Mass., is strictly a paper operation. Gelpac Poly Brampton in Ontario makes film. The company's facilities in Marieville and Farnham, Quebec, produce both paper and film.
Gelpac invested almost US$4 million for a new production line and equipment at the Marieville site last year and is spending US$4.7 million this year for machinery and a 6,000-square-foot expansion at the Farnham plant. Gelpac now has seven production lines.
Tail End Capital Partners is Gelpac's first U.S. institutional investor. Other investors include Caisse de dépôt et placement du Quebec (CDPQ), W Investments Group LP and the Quebec Manufacturing Fund (FMQ).
Gelpac employs more than 300. Capoor estimated Gelpac's 2020 film sales at C$50 million (US$39.4 million) and total sales of C$130 million (US $102.4 million). "And we expect that to be slightly higher this year," he added.