Irish Firm Buys US Moulder to Expand North American Presence

Dublin-based One51 plc is continuing to expand on this side of the Atlantic Ocean, this time with the $150m (€135m) purchase of Macro Plastics Inc.

Macro, headquartered in Fairfield, California, is the "largest manufacturer of rigid plastic bulk bins worldwide," One51 said.

The company has manufacturing locations at its California site and in Union Gap, Washington, and Shelbyville, Kentucky.

Macro's sales this year are expected to be $95m (€85m), up from $76m (€68m) last year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are expected to be $19m (€17m) this year, up from $16m (€14.3m) last year, One51 said.

The company makes large bins and smaller totes used in agricultural, food processing, retail and industrial applications.

The large bins can hold hundreds or thousands of pounds of material, and the bins themselves can weigh more than 100 pounds each, depending on their capacity.

The company operates "some of the largest bulk machines in North America," One51 said.

The purchase of Macro follows a $35m (€31.1m) deal for injection moulder and thermoformer Encore Industries Inc. of Sandusky, Ohio, last year. In 2015, the company entered the North American market with the acquisition of a majority of IPL Inc., an injection moulder based in St. Damien, Quebec. IPL has six manufacturing sites in the United States and Canada.

One51 is making the Macro purchase through its IPL subsidiary.

"This transformational acquisition gives us our first significant presence on the West Coast of America, providing us with a leading position in a number of growing market segments," said One51 CEO Alan Walsh in a statement. "The acquisition also expands our geographic reach, product portfolio and customer base across the growing North and South American markets."

One51 has been both an environmental services company and a plastics manufacturer, but Walsh announced in March that the company planned to divest the environmental services business and expand in plastics.

"In a few short years One51 has evolved from being a diversified investment company to one focused solely on plastics. Our latest results, which are ahead of expectations, support that strategy. Our challenge now is to continue to grow our plastics operations, both organically and through acquisition, while continuing to integrate our previous acquisitions. We see the potential to make acquisitions in the retail packaging and bulk packaging sectors in both North America and Europe," he said 20 March, when the publicly traded company released its 2016 results.

One51 reported 2016 sales of €348.2m. The company has 1,600 employees and makes rigid plastics products in Ireland, the United Kingdom, China and North America.

One51 said the Macro deal, subject to US regulatory approval, is expected to close by the middle of June.

The transaction is being funded through debt and additional equity from IPL shareholders. One51 owns 67% of IPL. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec owns 22% and Fonds de Solidarité des travailleurs du Québec owns 11%.

Macro's product line complements IPL's offerings and allows the company to take "a significant step in One51's strategy to become a leading global player in the rigid plastics market," the company said in a statement.