No financial details were revealed for the deal secured last week, but it includes an international facility in China and two US-based sites, one in Illinois and the other in California.
The portfolio company of Mid Oaks Investments LLC now has sixteen manufacturing and warehousing facilities worldwide.
Clear Lam said the thermoforming division recorded annual sales of $80m and supplies food packaging containers made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polylactic acid (PLA) to leading North American food processors and retailers.
Acquisition rationale
Mark Staton, president and CEO of D&W Fine Pack, told FoodProductionDaily.com the rationale of the takeover was based on Clear Lam’s market presence and sales to packer and processor segments.
“We monitor all competitors in our market areas, and keep a list of those with a clear strategic fit. Clear Lam [was] on the list, and when it became obvious that they were in a divestment process, we moved.
“This is a market of high importance to D&W, and we needed to build our operating platform, with a greater critical mass of PET and PLA thermoforming.
“These resins are more beneficial in this segment, and our prior platform did not have necessary scale.”
When asked about the China facility, Staton said: “We will look to expand sales in Pacific Rim, as well as using some of their capacity for US market.
“Growth [is] critical and although we are focused on internal product development, we will pursue acquisitions that are accretive and accelerate that growth.”
Staton added that they had added to existing skills and personnel with the acquisition but they will also need to harvest available synergies.
Clear Lam’s future
Clear Lam plans to expand its flexible films and forming films divisions and CL Polymers unit, which manufactures proprietary compounds designed to improve performance characteristics for both bioplastics and traditional petroleum-based plastics.
James Sanfilippo, president and CEO of Clear Lam Packaging, said: "With demand for renewable packaging materials growing, Clear Lam has made great strides in bringing new designs and technologies to market and we're excited to tap into their technical expertise.
"Clear Lam will continue to invest in new technologies that provide innovative solutions to our customers while reducing costs.
"Developing new packaging structures that incorporate renewable raw materials or recycled content and designs that allow for light weighting will remain key areas of focus for the next several years."