TC Transcontinental is buying a majority stake in a flexible plastics business in Ecuador specializing in supplying banana farms.
Industrial Y Commercial Trilex C.A. of Guayaquil is the largest plastics supplier for the banana industry in that country, according to Montreal-based TC Transcontinental.
Trilex has about 170 workers making plastics packaging and farm plastics used for protection and pest control, the company said.
"The acquisition of a majority participation in Trilex, a leading supplier to the banana export industry, is aligned with our growth strategy for the packaging sector," CEO François Olivier of TC Transcontinental said in a statement.
TC Transcontinental said Trilex becomes the company's second operation in Ecuador. In Latin America, the company also has plants in Guatemala and Mexico and a sales office in Costa Rica.
Trilex "will bolster our product offering to the agricultural market, namely with banana tree bags and box liners," President Thomas Morin of TC Transcontinental said in a statement.
The banana market is a good example of how "active ingredients in films can lead to better harvests and how important food protection is to extend product shelf life for export," he continued.
TC Transcontinental has made eight flexible packaging acquisitions since 2014, including a 2018 deal for Coveris Americas. The company is also Canada's largest printer.
An Aug. 14 presentation, prior to the acquisition of Trilex, indicated TC Transcontinental had 28 manufacturing plants, including 19 in the United States and three in Canada. Single locations are in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and China.