Thermoplastic pipe extruder Ipex USA LLC acquired Silver-Line Plastics Corp., which manufactures pipe at four U.S. sites.
Founded in 1962, Asheville, N.C.-based Silver-Line produces a broad range of pipe products from PVC, chlorinated PVC, polyethylene and cross-linked polyethylene at plants in Asheville, Lawton, Okla., and Fort Pierce, Fla.
The company serves the plumbing, well casing, irrigation, utility, industrial and agricultural, gas and geothermal markets. With estimated sales of $140 million, Silver-Line ranks 34th among North American pipe, profile and tubing extruders, according to Plastics News' latest ranking.
Ipex, the Pineville, N.C.-based North American subsidiary of Aliaxis SA, which is based in Brussels, Belgium, extrudes pipe for similar end markets as well as municipal customers. With estimated sales of $460 million, Ipex ranks eighth among North American extruders, according to the ranking.
Terms of the acquisition, which is expected to close in a few weeks, were not disclosed.
Ipex CEO Alex Mestres said in a news statement that Silver-Line is the right company to grow with in the United States.
"Like Ipex, Silver-Line has a strong reputation in the marketplace for being customer focused and supplying high quality products. This acquisition will significantly contribute to our growth objectives in the U.S.," Mestres said.
Silver-Line CEO Ricky Silver, whose father co-founded the company, called the businesses "a good fit."
"The synergies between our two companies will provide our employees, customers and the market as a whole with a broader product offering, increased focus on customer service, and technology strengths that are world class," Silver said.
Silver-Line's website touts several technical manufacturing milestones, such as becoming the first company to fully automate the PVC blending process in 1980; the first to produce cellular core pipe with two extruders instead of three in 1985; and the first to receive sustainability certification from the Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association in 2014.
Silver-Line is joining a company that employs 16,100 at manufacturing and distribution facilities worldwide.
"Consistent with our strategy, this acquisition strengthens our leadership position in North America, expands our footprint and reinforces our value proposition in the United States," Aliaaxis CEO Laurent Lenoir said in a news release.
