Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
August 09, 2019 12:04 PM

Kohlberg closes on Bemis Healthcare Packaging Europe acquisition, merges with Nelipak

Don Loepp
Editor
Plastics News Editor
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Bemis Healthcare Packaging Europe

    Bemis' operations includes film lamination, which adds flexible packaging to Nelipak's portfolio.

    As promised, Nelipak Corp. Inc. is growing globally under its new ownership.

    In July, investment firm Kohlberg & Co. LLC acquired the major manufacturer of custom plastic packaging for the health care sector. At the time, Mount Kisco, N.Y-based Kohlberg announced it had plans to leverage the business with "sizeable, global acquisitions."

    Kohlberg made good on the pledge Aug. 8, when it completed a previously announced deal to buy Bemis Healthcare Packaging Europe for $394 million — then immediately merged the unit with Nelipak.

    The combined companies have footprints in both North America and Europe. Products include flexible and thermoformed packaging.

    "This will significantly enhance Nelipak's capabilities with the addition of flexible packaging alternatives for our global customers," Mike Kelly, president and CEO of Nelipak, said in a news release.

    Bemis Healthcare Packaging Europe
    Bemis Healthcare Packaging Europe is becoming a part of Nelipak Inc. under its new owner.
    Fallout of Amcor-Bemis deal

    Kohlberg picked up the Bemis Healthcare business as a result of the year's packaging megamerger: Amcor Ltd.'s $6.8 billion purchase of Bemis Co. Inc. The European Commission asked the companies to divest the European health care business because of competition concerns.

    Industry veteran Peter Schmitt called the Nelipak deal an example of a major "remapping" of the sterile medical packaging market, driven by Amcor's deal.

    "Not too long ago, there were two major public companies in both food and medical packaging: Amcor and Bemis," said Schmitt, managing director of Montesino Associates LLC in Wilmington, Del. "Indeed, they split the assets of Alcan when Alcan's packaging division was divested. Now they are merging."

    Bemis and Amcor grew significantly when they split the former Alcan Packaging business in 2010, which had been owned by metals and mining firm Rio Tinto plc.

    But when Bemis and Amcor agreed to merge, competition authorities in the United States and Europe asked the two to divest big chunks of their medical packaging business — and private equity firms pounced on the opportunity.

    First, Wayne, Pa.-based Tekni-Plex Inc., which is owned by Genstar Capital, bought three manufacturing plants from Amcor's Flexible Packaging business unit for $215 million to broaden its portfolio of sterilizable medical device packaging. That deal included three U.S. plants.

    Now Kohlberg-backed Nelipak has done the same with three Bemis plants in Europe.

    Schmitt said the private equity firms are building a portfolio of packaging companies focused only on medical devices or health care, not food.

    "The question is, will Amcor be able to focus on both food and medical, and use its size and brand strength to grow its position? Or will this new map of strong and growing sterile medical packaging companies led by private equity challenge Amcor in the medical arena?

    "Additional consolidation appears to be likely. Add to that the uncertainty of both trade wars and a possible recession and we will see some interesting moves in the future," Schmitt said.

    Nelipak
    Nelipak's medical packaging operations are growing with the addition of Bemis Healthcare Packaging Europe.
    Nelipak by the numbers

    Prior to the merger, Nelipak, which has been in business for 60 years, employed more than 800 at seven production sites. In addition to its headquarters in Cranston, R.I., the company had plants in Whitehall, Pa.; Phoenix; Humacao, Puerto Rico; San José, Costa Rica; Galway, Ireland; and Venray, the Netherlands.

    With an estimated $90 million in sales, Nelipak Healthcare Packaging ranked No. 25 among North American thermoformers, according to the latest Plastics News ranking.

    The Bemis Healthcare deal adds three more plants and 600 employees. The three plants, in Londonderry, Northern Ireland; Clara, Ireland; and Brigg, England, represented the entire medical packaging business of Neenah, Wis.-based Bemis, and have a combined annual sales of around $170 million.

    Bemis Healthcare Packaging Europe
    Bemis' Londonderry, Northern Ireland, facility.
    Kohlberg highlights synergies

    Kohlberg officials highlighted how combining the two businesses gives Nelipak global scale and a wider range of plastic packaging products.

    "Our recent acquisition of Nelipak represented a platform for growth and consolidation," Seth Hollander, a partner at Kohlberg, said in the release. "The Bemis acquisition provides a unique opportunity to create global scale and diversification across complementary product offerings."

    Roger Prevot, operating partner at Kohlberg, added: "This combination provides attractive opportunities for revenue growth from cross-selling and geographic expansion. Mike and his team will be better equipped to serve the company's customers as a comprehensive partner for their packaging needs."

    Kohlberg bought Nelipak from Milwaukee-based Mason Wells on July 2.

    Nelipak's products include thermoformed trays and blisters used to product Class II and Class III medical devices and pharmaceuticals as well as trays for surgical procedures, such as orthopedic and cardiac implants, and handling drugs, such as auto-injectors, pre-filled syringes and vaccines.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Plastics In Politics Live — sign up for the next live
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Redline's ‘outrageous cultural behaviors' retain top employees
    2
    Cuts at KraussMaffei to spare US, assembly jobs
    3
    M. Holland, Lavergne strike deal on recycled resin distribution
    4
    K'Nex Brands sold to Florida-based toy company
    5
    PureCycle now planning April startup for PP recycling plant
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified