Seiler Plastics Corp. is expanding its product lineup by acquiring sheet extruder Central States Products Inc. (CSP) of St. Louis.
Dave Seiler, president of the sheet, profile and tubing extruder and injection molder, said he saw an opportunity when CSP was put on the market.
"They're a good complement to what we've been doing in the sheet area," Seiler said in a June 28 phone interview. The acquisition "expands our capability and offerings — they produce much thinner sheet than we have in the past."
Seiler Plastics plans to retain key CSP personnel to ensure a smooth transition. The previous owner, James Fleming, passed away in 2021 and the company was being held by a trust.
"With this opportunity to buy another extruder almost in our backyard, we had to buy them. It's a good business," Seiler said.
The deal closed May 1.
Seiler Plastics' markets include agricultural, aerospace, medical, construction and consumer goods.
In the past four years, Seiler Plastics has almost doubled in size, "through sheer luck or determination — call it what you want." Overall, sales were headed for $7 million to $7.5 million this year, but the CSP purchase will push that figure to about $12 million, Seiler said.
The acquisition also about doubles Seiler Plastics' total employment to 40.
Seiler entered injection molding when it bought Precise Mold and Engineering in a deal that closed Jan. 1, 2021. Seiler folded PME into his company and moved PME's equipment from nearby Valley Park, Mo., to St. Louis.
At that time, PME had annual sales of roughly $400,000. Seiler added molds and increased injection molding sales to $1 million last year. The operation now has seven presses, with clamping forces of 60 to 450 tons, and makes parts for original equipment manufacturers, and the medical and military markets.
Seiler said the third-generation company was started by his grandfather in 1971. Fifty-two years later, "I still have the first customer my grandfather started with," Alexander Mfg. Corp. in St. Louis, which makes promotional screwdrivers.