North American Pipe Corp. (NAPCO) is acquiring Lasco Fittings Inc., a Brownsville, Tenn.-based manufacturer of injected molded PVC fittings, from Dutch manufacturer Aalberts NV.
The seller reached an agreement to divest all shares of Lasco, which generates about $150 million in U.S. sales, according to a July 5 Aalberts NV news release about a divestment plan that also includes Adex BV in the Netherlands.
The acquisition will help NAPCO, a subsidiary of Houston-based Westlake Chemical Corp., expand into new markets served by Lasco, which includes plumbing, pool and spa, industrial, irrigation and retail in the U.S.
"Lasco's product mix is very complementary to our existing range of pipe and fittings products primarily with diameters of four or more inches and will bring additional fittings products to NAPCO's offerings," Andre Battistin, vice president of NAPCO Pipe & Fittings, said in a separate news release.
Lasco's 560 employees will be retained and transfer to Westlake, he added.
The acquired company operates a 48-acre, 500,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility in Brownsville, which is northeast of Memphis, as well as eight regional U.S. distribution sites.
Lasco also announced a 6 percent price increase would go into effect on July 7 for its PVC and ABS fittings for drain, waste and vent applications due to increases in the cost of raw material prices, freight and labor.
The acquisition by NAPCO is expected to close during the second half of 2021.
Founded in 1992, NAPCO produces gasketed, solvent welded and restrained joint pipes for the municipal water and sewer, turf and agricultural irrigation, water well, mining and residential plumbing markets. The company also offers foundation waterproofing and drainage products to keep basements dry.
NAPCO brands include Certa-Lok, Yelomine, Certa-Set and Certa-Flo.
In addition to building products and infrastructure materials, Westlake companies manufacture packaging, health care, automotive and consumer goods. With estimated extrusion sales of $1.2 billion, Westlake ranks fourth among North American pipe, profile and tubing producers, according to Plastics News data.
The other company being divested by Aalberts NV is Limburg-based Adex BV, which manufactures high-grade dies for extruding aluminum and generates sales of about 10 million euros ($11.9 million) with 50 full-time employees.