In a major rotational molding deal, Myers Industries Inc. has acquired Trilogy Plastics Inc. for an undisclosed price.
Alliance, Ohio-based Trilogy is "a world-class custom rotational molder specializing in high quality, high tolerance parts and assemblies," officials with Akron, Ohio-based Myers Industries said in an Aug. 2 news release.
Trilogy is 34 years old, but its predecessor companies date back more than 100 years. Stephen Osborn and Bruce Frank bought the company from creditors in 1987. The company has twice been featured in Plastics News' Best Places to Work, and was also a finalist for Processor of the Year in 2015 and 2016.
Officials at Myers, a publicly traded company, added that the acquisition is the latest action taken as part of the "One Myers" long-term strategic plan, which is focused on transforming the firm into "a high growth, customer centric innovator of value added engineered plastic solutions."
Myers President and CEO Mike McGaugh said in the release that the addition of Trilogy to Myers' rotational molding platform "represents an important milestone" in the One Myers strategy and that officials believe that Trilogy "will unlock additional growth and expansion opportunities for the company."
Trilogy makes custom products for the industrial, consumer, lawn and garden, heavy truck, medical and other markets. The company employs 265 at two U.S. plants and has annual sales of about $35 million.
Originally named Old King Cole Inc. and based in Canton, Ohio, the firm got into rotomolding in the 1960s. It moved to nearby Louisville, Ohio, in the 1940s, and it built its Alliance custom molding plant in 2005.
Myers has made several acquisitions in recent years, most recently in November acquiring Elkhart Plastics Inc. of South Bend, Ind., for $62.5 million. Elkhart is one of North America's 10 largest rotational molders.
Myers officials said that the combination of Trilogy with their own Ameri-Kart and the recently acquired Elkhart businesses will create one of the largest rotational molding manufacturers in the U.S. and will provide Myers' customers with access to a more complete portfolio of diverse products.
"The combination will allow us to continue our steady growth, improve our ability to support our customers and provide more opportunities to our team members," Osborn, who is Trilogy's chairman, said in the release.
Trilogy ranked 19th in Plastics News' most recently published estimate of North American rotomolders with sales of $26 million. The $35 million sales total would move them to 15th in the ranking.
Myers also does business in injection molding and blow molding under various brands, including Scepter, Akro-Mils and Buckhorn. The firm generates 75 percent of its sales from plastics processing — primarily storage containers and similar products — with the remainder coming from the tire market in repair and retreads.
During the Plastics News Executive Forum in March, McGaugh said that Myers aims to grow both organically and through acquisitions to reach annual sales of $1 billion by the end of 2023. The firm posted sales of just over $500 million in 2020.
"We're in the early innings of our growth journey, but we're committed to growth," he added during the event.