Extrusion equipment manufacturer Reifenhauser Group of Troisdorf, Germany, led by Ulrich Reifenhauser, acquired a majority stake in Kdesign GmbH.

Plastics machinery firms were active players in the M&A market in the first half of 2021.

Arburg GmbH of Lossburg, Germany, purchased its development partner of more than 20 years, AMK Arnold Müller GmbH & Co. KG, as part of a strategic investment to strengthen its expertise and electric drives portfolio. The acquired company has a product portfolio of motors, electrical drive systems and control technology, and industrial automation technology. Arburg plans to retain the AMK employees and keep open the sites in Kirchheim unter Teck and Weida, Germany, and Gabrovo, Bulgaria.

Aston, Pa.-based Maguire Products Inc. bought a minority share of Bridgeville, Del.-based O.A. Newton, a supplier of bulk material handling systems to the wood-plastic composite, flexible and rigid PVC, and carbon black markets, to expand capabilities. O.A. Newton designs and builds complete systems for unloading, storage, conveying and blending of process ingredients for plastics processors and other manufacturers.

Extrusion equipment manufacturer Reifenhäuser Group of Troisdorf, Germany, acquired a majority stake in Kdesign GmbH, a manufacturer of air cooling rings and measuring systems for blown film extrusion lines. In the deal, Reifenhäuser expanded its in-house expertise in cooling, controlling, measuring and calibrating blown films while Kdesign gains access to a large international service network.

In the tooling sector, Windsor, Ontario-based Concours Technologies Inc. acquired Active Industrial Solutions Inc., which is also based in Windsor and has a related mold repair and maintenance facility in Tennessee.

Concours is a wholly owned subsidiary of Southfield, Mich.-based SyBridge Technologies, which was established in 2019 with $200 million from the private equity firm Crestview Partners to form a market leader, particularly for tooling for the lighting, fascia and grille segment.

The combination of Concours and AIS creates one of the largest tooling and mold making companies in North America. In addition to its Windsor headquarters, where Concours houses engineering and services, the company has facilities in Lakeshore, Ontario; Cullman, Ala.; and Puebla, Mexico.

Also in the first half, Concours bought the assets of Toolplas Systems Mexico S de RL de CV to service injection molders in the central part of the country. Concours officials said they wanted to add a customer service center in the Querétaro area and were able to negotiate a deal to acquire the assets of Toolplas Mexico.

Two high valuations in first-half deals came from the 3D printing and pool and spa sectors. Maple Plain, Minn.-based prototype and digital manufacturing specialist Proto Labs Inc. purchased Amsterdam-based 3D Hubs Inc., now named Hubs, an e-commerce software company, for $280 million.

Once Hubs is integrated with Proto Labs, customers "will have access to the broadest set of manufacturing capabilities, pricing and lead-time options, all delivered through [a] digitally enabled e-commerce model," officials said.

In a $245 million deal, Sabadell, Spain-based Fluidra SA, a maker of pool and wellness products, acquired Custom Molded Products of Newnan, Ga., to quickly enter the spa components market and to offer new and complementary pool products.

Fluidra paid cash and used debt facilities in the deal with seller Tenex Capital Management. The addition of a U.S. company with 2020 sales exceeding $109 million, strong brands in the recreational water industry and manufacturing expertise will expand growth opportunities for Fluidra, according to company officials. Fluidra has annual sales of about $1.5 billion.

Recreational vehicle giant Patrick Industries Inc. of Elkhart, Ind., made three deals in the first half, including Alpha Systems LLC, a maker of RV roofs using thermoplastic polyolefin.

Several firms made M&A headlines more than once in the first half. Packaging giant ProAmpac set the pace with four first-half packaging deals: three acquisitions in the United Kingdom and one in Minnesota. Cincinnati-based ProAmpac acquired IG Industries plc, Brayford Plastics Ltd. and Rapid Action Packaging Ltd.

ProAmpac then bought multiwall packaging specialist El Dorado Packaging Inc. of Rosemount, Minn., from Evanston, Ill.-based investment firm Industrial Opportunity Partners LLC. El Dorado makes custom paper-based packaging for retail and industrial markets.

Tank Holding Corp., North America's largest rotational molding company, kept its hot streak alive with three first-half deals. Tank purchased Lake Wales, Fla.-based rotational molder Dura-Cast Products Inc.; Chino, Calif.-based rotational molder Spin Products Inc.; and Rotational Molding of Utah Inc. of Brigham City, Utah. Tank of Lincoln, Neb., now has made 14 acquisitions in two years.

The Dura-Cast deal "provides additional regional capacity for the Southeast markets," Tank CEO Greg Wade said. "[Spin] complements our growth strategy both in our core and adjacent markets, including expansion of our custom molding division," he added. Officials said the RMU deal gives Tank compression molding technology and additional rotomolding capacity in the Southwest.

Tank is owned by private equity firm Olympus Partners and includes the brands of Norwesco, Snyder Industries, Bonar Plastics, Bushman, Chem-Tainer, Meese, Stratis Pallets, RMI and Dura-Cast. The company operates 35 manufacturing plant locations and employs about 1,000 people in North America, prior to the Spin acquisition.

Canadian film extruder Balcan Plastics Ltd. also made three first-half deals. In February, the firm acquired two plastics-related businesses in Canada. Balcan first purchased Montreal-based Nelmar Group, which includes Nelmar Security Packaging Systems Inc., Plastixx Extrusion Technologies Inc. and Plastixx FFS Technologies Inc.

Also in February, Balcan acquired Covertech Fabricating Inc. of Toronto. Covertech makes high-performance insulation, film and flexible packaging products. In its third deal, Balcan made a move into the U.S. by acquiring a manufacturing plant in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., that had been closed since late 2020.

Recreational vehicle giant Patrick Industries Inc. of Elkhart, Ind., also made three deals in the first half. In that time, it's bought Alpha Systems LLC, an Elkhart-based maker of thermoplastic polyolefin membrane roofs for RVs; Hyperform Inc., a Florida-based manufacturer of nonslip foam flooring sold under the SeaDek brand name; and Everett, Wash.-based Sea-Dog Corp., a distributor of marine and powersports products with its own injection molding company, Sea-Lect Plastics.

Plastics processor Spectrum Plastics Group made a pair of acquisitions in the first half, buying most of the assets of Laser Light Technologies LLC of Hermann, Mo., and blown and coextruded film maker KCS Plastics Ltd. of Langley, British Columbia.

Officials with Spectrum in Alpharetta, Ga., said that Laser Light "has decades of expertise as a critical supplier for global customers through the customization of laser processing systems and services." KCS makes high density polyethylene products and three-layer coextruded films and liners for customers in Canada and the U.S.

Pexco LLC made its eighth acquisition since 2018, this time growing in the fluoropolymer market by purchasing Altaflo LLC of Sparta, N.J. Officials with Pexco in Johns Creek, Ga., said that Altaflo makes high-performance fluoropolymer and fluoroplastic extrusions for a wide variety of industries.

PPC Flexible Packaging LLC acquired Target Labels & Packaging LLC, a maker of packaging labels, rollstock and pouches in North Salt Lake, Utah. It's the second deal in six months and seventh in less than four years for Buffalo Grove, Ill.-based PPC, a supplier of custom flexible packaging.

Financial giants KKR and Apollo Global Management — both with previous plastics experience — invested in the industry in the first half. KKR bought a stake in film packaging maker Charter Next Generation Inc.

As part of that deal, CNG employees will be given the opportunity to acquire ownership stakes. KKR will be joining private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners LP as an equal co-owner of CNG. A unit of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is investing to become a minority owner.

CNG, based in Milton, Wis., was formed in 2019 from the merger of Charter NEX Films Inc. and Next Generation Films Inc. The two firms were formally combined in late 2020, and Kathy Bolhous became head of the new entity.

Separately, the two firms were ranked with combined sales of $975 million in the last Plastics News listing of North American film and sheet manufacturers in 2020, putting each of them in the top 20 measured by sales. The combination could put them in the top 10.

Apollo Funds, managed by Apollo Global Management Inc., acquired a majority stake in ABC Technologies Holdings Inc. from Cerebrus Capital Management LP. Apollo purchased 51 percent of outstanding common shares of the company for almost $8 per common share.

Toronto-based ABC has extensive auto part production. It's ranked No. 9 in Plastics News' ranking of North American injection molders with an estimated $625 million worth of sales in the region, and it is No. 15 among blow molders with $425 million in sales.

• Northlake, Ill.-based Scholle IPN, a manufacturer of films, fitments and equipment for bag-in-box and pouch packaging, acquired Bossar Packing SA, a Spanish supplier of flexible horizontal form-fill-seal packaging equipment for food, beverage, nonfood and aseptic uses.

• The Jordan Co. LP of New York bought a majority stake in plastics processor Spartech LLC from another PE firm, Nautic Partners of Providence, R.I. Spartech ranks as one of North America's 25 largest film and sheet makers and one of the region's 50 largest thermoformers, according to Plastics News data.

• Good Natured Products Inc. of Vancouver acquired sheet extruder Ex-Tech Plastics Inc. of Richmond, Ill. Good Natured has agreed to pay US$14.1 million for all of Ex-Tech's operating assets along with real estate owned by a related company, ETP Inc. Ex-Tech operates seven extrusion lines, serving customers in the food, retail and medical packaging markets, among others. It recorded 2020 sales of almost $26 million.

• Less than a year after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Nashotah, Wis.-based automotive injection molder Techniplas LLC acquired assets from a German company that is undergoing an insolvency process. Nanogate SE went into insolvency in June 2020. Techniplas filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2020 and emerged in June 2020 as a part of its sale to Bayside Capital, Amzak Capital Management and The Jordan Co.

Nanogate produces and designs components and surfaces for the automotive and industrial end markets. Prior to entering Chapter 11, Techniplas was No. 41 in Plastics News' ranking of North American injection molders with $240 million in annual sales. However, it sold two plants to Revere Plastics Systems Inc. before it emerged from bankruptcy.

• Soteria Flexibles Holdings purchased Redi-Bag Inc., a Tukwila, Wash.-based blown film extruder and converter. The deal is the second acquisition of a custom film specialist for Soteria Flexibles, a portfolio company owned by French private equity firm Ardian.

"With Redi-Bag, we saw an immediate fit with Colonial Bag," Bradley Herbolsheimer, CEO of Soteria Flexibles, said. "It has one facility with great bones and a lot of room for expansion outside Seattle."

Both Colonial Bag and Redi-Bag will continue to operate under their existing names. The seller was Traverse Pointe Partners LLC, a Chicago-based investment firm that has owned Redi-Bag since June 2017.

Redi-Bag makes low density polyethylene film and protective packaging, primarily for the food packaging market in the Pacific Northwest. Ardian also owns Novi, Mich.-based injection molder Revere Plastics Systems Inc. Soteria Flexibles is still in acquisition mode, officials said.

• Private equity firm Oak Hill Capital acquired a majority stake in Asheboro, N.C.-based Technimark Holdings LLC. Pritzker Private Capital, which partnered with Technimark management in 2014, will retain a significant minority investment and will continue to be actively involved in growing the business, officials said.

Technimark's management team will continue to lead the business. The company is among the top North American injection molders with $531 million in sales in the region, placing it at No. 15 in the most recent Plastics News ranking. Technimark currently operates 12 manufacturing facilities and 17 clean rooms with more than 4,700 employees globally.

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