While COVID-19 delayed the closing of IntraPac International Corp.'s purchase of Precision Concepts Costa Rica, the extra time allowed both companies to get to know one another much better.
Some two years after the two sides first started talking about a deal, IntraPac closed on the acquisition of PCCR, a move that rounds out IntraPac's portfolio of manufacturing offerings.
IntraPac, which already had larger-tonnage molding and automated assembly capabilities, now adds manual assembly and smaller-tonnage molding operations through the deal for PCCR, IntraPac CEO Ray Grupinski explained.
"This is a perfect fit for us," he said. "The one thing we were lacking was the full-service offering to our customers of molding and manual assembly."
PCCR designs, validates, molds and assembles components and subassemblies for medical devices used during procedures such as heart valve replacement, nasal endoscopies and vascular surgery, IntraPac said. A key product line is sophisticated catheters used in those procedures.
Two years ago, the world was a much different place. That's when the two companies started talking about a potential deal. This was before social distancing, the wide use of face masks and a lockdown that kept people homebound.
But the drastic changes that the pandemic brought also gave both sides more time.
"We've had two years to really get to know each other, and we felt it was a good marriage for both companies and now we are moving forward," Grupinski said about the deal that closed Aug. 3.
"It was very difficult to bring on an acquisition when you can't travel. We've a very family-oriented company. We think it's very important that we know one another. And not being able to see each other face to face on a monthly basis is tough," he said.
You can only do so much, Grupinski explained, during teleconferences.
With society opening back up, the two sides were able to finalize the deal that brings 310 workers in Costa Rica to IntraPac, which already has existing operations in the country that employ about 420 workers at a separate facility.
IntraPac's Envasa unit, based in San Jose, Costa Rica, makes rigid packaging for the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and personal care markets.
Mooresville, N.C.-based IntraPac said Aug. 3 current leadership will remain at PCCR located just outside San Jose.
Grupinski pointed to PCCR's more than 20,000 square feet of clean room space and reputation within the medical original equipment manufacturing business as two reasons to make the deal. Under new ownership, PCCR will add another 10,000 square feet of clean room operations within existing space at its location in the Saret Industrial Park. That facility has a total of 43,000 square feet.
While PCCR's specialty is in medical devices, IntraPac's other business in Costa Rica focuses on consumer products. That means there really is no overlap in terms of production. There will be some back-office integration, Grupinski said.
PCCR dates to 1991 and was sold by Precision Concepts Group of Winston-Salem, N.C.
"Over the past 30 years, we have built PCCR into Costa Rica's premier medical device manufacturer, and it was personally important to me to find the right partner to lead the company through its next stage of growth," PCCR founder Vince Marino said in a statement.
Along with corporate headquarters in Mooresville, IntraPac also has locations in Mount Crawford, Va.; Lawrenceburg, Ind.; Mebane, N.C.; Prescott, Ariz.; Calgary, Alberta; Mississauga, Ontario; and Haina, Dominican Republic.
The company makes specialty rigid packaging, including sticks, jars, vials, closures, spouts, bottles and tubes. IntraPac also injection molds components for the medical, pharmaceutical, personal care, food and beverage, and nutraceutical segments.