Plastic packaging and components manufacturer Technimark LLC acquired Tool & Plastic Industries Ltd., an injection molder with sites in Ireland and Czech Republic.
The European plants operate 24/7 to supply the medical device, pharmaceutical and consumer product markets.
Technimark officials say the strategic acquisition enhances the Asheboro, N.C.-based company’s health care manufacturing expertise and its global footprint, particularly to serve customers in Western and Eastern Europe.
The deal was announced July 15. No terms were disclosed.
"We are committed to the European market, and we are excited to have more capacity to offer current and future clients in the region," Technimark CEO Brad Wellington told Plastics News.
Founded in 1968, Tool & Plastic has its headquarters in Longford, Ireland, and specializes in contract clean room molding and assemblies. The company opened a subsidiary called Innovaplast S.R.O. near Ostrava, Czech Republic, in 2005.
Both sites have a strong customer base that Technimark officials say they can continue to grow.
"We have been working with the Tool & Plastic's team for a long time and felt they were a perfect fit," Wellington said. "They have a great team, wonderful customers and a service-oriented culture that fully complements Technimark's approach. Additionally, their facility locations were a perfect fit for our growth strategy, allowing us to establish a foothold in two key regions."
The two Tool & Plastic sites employ about 200 people. They will all be retained and they could get new co-workers.
"We view this as a growth acquisition so we plan to fully support the T&P team and expand the organization in both regions," Wellington said.
Tool & Plastic had invested regularly in its facilities, which have numerous clean room environments for manufacturing and are both ISO 13485 certified. The company's medical and pharmaceutical customers serve cardiology, vascular, endoscopy, drug delivery, blood filtration, biotech and general surgical markets.
The acquired company's leadership in its core health care markets combined with Technimark's manufacturing expertise, health care customer relationships and scale will create a market leader with opportunities, according to Wellington.
"We see significant opportunities for growth within our combined customer list, as health care and packaging are strong in both regions," he said. "And our expertise in delivering fit-for-purpose parts and packaging for the medical device, health care and personal cleaning sectors has never been more critical or in demand as it is right now."
Founded in 1983, Technimark ranks No. 15 among North American injection molders based on annual sales of $503 million, according to Plastics News' latest ranking.
The company produces diagnostic components, drug delivery devices, medical products and consumer health care packaging in addition to serving the industrial market.
Technimark's customers could find new opportunities from the acquisition, too, Wellington said.
"This acquisition also creates a wide range of value-added opportunities for Technimark's existing customers that desire partners in these regions," he said. "Expanding our clients' markets through strategic partnerships and alliances is one of our key objectives."
Tool & Plastic owners Colm Cuffe and Declan O'Rourke said they are looking forward to partnering with Technimark.
"Tool & Plastic and Technimark share a common culture for technical excellence, safety, innovation and customer partnership, and we look forward to building lasting value together," Cuffe said in a news release.
The private capital group of Chicago-based Pritzker Group owns controlling interest in Technimark.
"This acquisition represents an important growth opportunity for Technimark and adds two state-of-the-art facilities in key geographies that will help accelerate growth of the combined business," Thomas Chadwick, vice president at Pritzker Private Capital, said in the release.
Tool & Plastic's website says it has a facility with 38 molding machines ranging from 22-800 tons clamp in Longford and a facility with white room manufacturing capability and presses ranging from 50-350 tons clamp.
With the acquisition, Technimark now has 13 facilities and more than 4,400 employees.