Plastics packaging firm Alpha Packaging Inc. of St. Louis has acquired Boxmore Plastics Ltd., a similar firm based in Ballyconnell, Ireland.
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Boxmore was founded in 1961 and makes packaging based on high density polyethylene for beverage, industrial, concentrates, healthcare and food markets in Ireland. The firm operates a 120,000-square-foot facility that includes extrusion blow molding, injection blow molding and injection molding, along with container decorating capabilities.
Alpha is a blow molder of bottles and jars for rapidly growing consumer markets, including the nutrition, pharmaceutical, personal care and niche food and beverage categories. It has an estimated $260 million in sales in North America, placing it at No. 18 in Plastics News’ ranking of blow molders in the region.
Alpha now operates 10 manufacturing facilities, including eight in North America. Boxmore expands its European operations from its previous operations in the Netherlands.
In a news release, Alpha CEO and President Terry Moody said that the acquisition of Boxmore “supports Alpha’s strategy of geographic expansion and strengthens our presence in the European market.”
He added that the addition “significantly increases our market share and adds important HDPE manufacturing capabilities in Europe.”
Officials said that Alpha now will leverage Boxmore’s HDPE technology to provide a broader product offering to its customers.
“Our newly expanded customer base will continue to receive the same high-quality products and service as they have come to expect from Alpha, but now with greater options, flexibility and geographical reach,” senior vice president Adam Doane added.
Boxmore will continue to operate under the Boxmore name while being a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alpha.
Alpha currently employs 1,100. In addition to blow molding, the firm has toolmaking capabilities, from unit body cavity molds to high-cavity production tooling, and also offers high-speed, automated container decorating services through its Technigraph container decorating division.
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