An Ohio-based design engineering company has acquired an injection molding plant in Georgetown, Texas, from Tasus Corp.
The acquisition was finalized Jan. 22. Terms were not disclosed.
The buyer is Kreate, a Findlay, Ohio-based brand with connections to other plastics processing companies including Findlay Machine & Tool LLC.
Kreate's founder and owner is Nickolas Reinhart, a serial entrepreneur and plastics industry veteran.
The company bought the Georgetown plant to expand its geographic reach for manufacturing, warehousing and distribution.
"It's us wanting to expand, to be to be closer to that goal of being within a one-day transit to all of our customers," Reinhart said in an interview with Plastics News.
Kreate's products include outdoor furniture, deck and dock systems, raised garden beds, utility sinks and wheelbarrows. In addition to injection molding, the company uses 3D printing technology and sustainable manufacturing practices.
The company touts its fast delivery system. Expanding geographically will help strengthen its network.
"We want to reduce the cost and the need for all that freight," Reinhart said. "It's more sustainable to be regional vs. one location shipping nationwide."
The 500,000-square-foot Georgetown plant has 30 injection molding machines ranging from 500-3,000 tons of clamping force. Kreate hired 160 former Tasus employees.
Company officials say the addition capacity will generate $150 million in annual sales.
The Georgetown plant was previously part of Tsuchiya North America, a unit of Nagoya, Japan-based Tsuchiya Co. Ltd. Tasus also has molding plants in Indiana and Alabama.
A former Tasus manager said all three plants stayed open and were busy through the pandemic, but they had to deal with supply-chain issues and pricing pressure from its automotive customers.
The parent company in Japan decided to pare down its operations in North America and sell one of the plants, and FTM was interested in the Texas plant.
Kreate officials said the Georgetown facility was a nice fit for the company's goals thanks to its expertise in advanced manufacturing.
"I think one of the most important things, and one of the things that I liked the most about the facility, was the culture and the workforce in the city of Georgetown," Reinhart said.
In the next 24 months, Kreate plans to further expand geographically, including Nevada, the Northeast and Southeast.
Reinhart's plastics resume includes Centrex Plastics LLC of Findlay and Creative Plastic Concepts of Sycamore, Ohio.
Kreate was established in 2015 and launched its first manufacturing facility in May 2018.
Investment banking firm MBS Advisors represented Tasus in the transaction with Kreate.