Foam Fabricators grows with Polyfoam deal

Foam Fabricators Inc. has acquired Polyfoam Corp. and taken other steps to grow the company.

Polyfoam is a foam products maker and injection molder based in Northbridge, Mass. The acquisition is the first deal for Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Foam Fabricators — a maker of foam products for packaging and other markets — since the firm was acquired by Compass Diversified Holdings in early 2018.

"We're very excited about this deal," Foam Fabricators Vice President Michael Hays said in a July 1 interview with Plastics News. "Polyfoam has unique design and development resources. They've developed a lot of techniques and creativity to grow their business."

Polyfoam has annual sales of more than $30 million and employs 130 at a 400,000-square-foot site. Foam Fabricators is acquiring Polyfoam from the Coz family. No purchase price was disclosed. Polyfoam was represented by Polymer Transaction Advisors Inc. of Foxfire, N.C.

Polyfoam products include protective and temperature-sensitive packaging for the medical, pharmaceutical, grocery and food industries. Its foam products can be based on expanded grades of polystyrene, polyethylene or polypropylene. The firm generates most of its sales from foam products, but Hays said foam "is pretty well balanced" with injection molding in Polyfoam's product mix.

Hays said the deal will broaden Polyfoam's geographic reach, as well as adding to Foam Fabricators' product offerings. In a news release, Foam Fabricators officials added that their firm will also benefit from Polyfoam's end-market exposure to cold chain products, such as seafood boxes, insulated shipping containers and grocery delivery totes.

Hays added that Foam Fabricators "was bought as a platform to grow the business. ... We're looking at more acquisitions."

Foam Fabricators President James Hughes said in the release that over the past two years and with the support of Compass, the firm "has been transforming our business, which has historically focused on molded foam products, into a full-service packaging solutions provider."

Compass CEO Elias Sabo added that as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to transform the way customers shop and places a heightened focus on logistics and supply chains, Foam Fabricators "continues to reposition itself as a one-stop, diversified packaging platform."

Foam Fabricators also recently formed a partnership with Rational Packaging LLC, a packaging firm based in Springfield, Tenn. Foam Fabricators will resell structural and protective packaging made by Rational. The two firms also will work together on design and testing of new products, Hays said.

On the new products front, Foam Fabricators recently commercialized a biodegradable EPS foam that's being sold under the BioEPS trade name. Officials said the material offers customers an eco-friendly option with the same performance as traditional EPS foam.

They added that while traditional EPS foam is recyclable, BioEPS is engineered to break down over a few years into methane and water, producing minimal environmental impact regardless of where it ends up in the waste stream.

In March, Foam Fabricators received the EPS Sustainability Limelight Award from the EPS Industry Alliance for its contributions to environmental stewardship and leadership in promoting life cycle analysis.

Foam Fabricators was founded in 1957 and now operates 14 facilities across North America. The firm makes components used in protective packaging, OEM components and temperature-controlled containers. Its end markets include appliances, pharmaceuticals, automotive and building products.

Westport, Conn.-based Compass paid $247.5 million to acquire Foam Fabricators from Warren Florkiewicz in early 2018. The publicly held firm also owns warming fuel maker Sterno and printed circuit board supplier Advanced Circuits, along with several other companies.