Ireland-based plastics manufacturer Mergon Group has acquired Weltonhurst Ltd., a supplier of blow molded components for health care and packaging industries, to expand its capabilities and business with customers in the United Kingdom.
"The acquisition of Weltonhurst represents a considerable strategic expansion of Mergon's operations and footprint internationally," Mergon CEO Pat Beirne said in a March 2 news release. "Operating in the U.K. will both safeguard seamless service for our U.K. customers following Brexit and will enhance our capabilities in large-part, small-volume molding."
Included in the acquisition is Weltonhurst's 430,000-square-foot (40,000-square-meter) facility in Lancashire, England, which has in-house automation and automated finishing equipment, the release said. The deal also includes 22 blow molding machines.
"We are excited to have the opportunity to extend our services and processes to a new host of U.K. customers, while also being able to rely on Weltonhurst's world-class facilities to enhance the design and manufacturing capabilities that we can offer to our existing customers. We have ambitious plans to grow our industrial division in the areas of traffic management and packaging products," Beirne said.
There will not be any leadership or employee changes at Weltonhurst as a result of the deal, Caolan Bushell, vice president of business development at Mergon, told Plastics News.
"Weltonhurst has an excellent team with great technical skills that will be a great addition to Mergon," Bushell said.
Mergon officials declined to comment on the cost of the acquisition.
"We have always held Mergon and its products in the highest regard, and we look forward to the new heights that our combined efforts and innovation can achieve," Paul Wareing, Weltonhurst managing director, said in the release. "We know that our employees and customers have a bright future ahead as we conclude the deal."
Mergon is based in Westmeath, Ireland, and has operations there as well as in Anderson, S.C., the Czech Republic and China, and supplies parts for brands including BMW, Rivian and Xerox.
Weltonhurst has 165 employees, and the deal will raise Mergon's global employee total to 865, Bushell said.
The deal is the first acquisition by Mergon since U.K.-based private equity firm Elysian Capital purchased a stake in the company in 2019.