Sonoco completes acquisition



Sonoco completes acquisition | Sonoco, packaging, acquisition,

HARTSVILLE, S.C. (News release) -- Sonoco announced it has completed the acquisition of Thermoform Engineered Quality, LLC, and Plastique Holdings, LTD, (together TEQ), a global manufacturer of thermoformed packaging serving healthcare, medical device and consumer markets, from ESCO Technologies, Inc. for $187 million in cash.

TEQ, headquartered in Huntley, IL, produced sales of $87 million in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2019, and operates three thermoforming and extrusion facilities in the United States along with a thermoforming operation in the United Kingdom, and thermoforming and molded-fiber manufacturing in Poland. Each facility has state-of-the-art cleanroom capabilities enabling the production of sterile, barrier packaging systems for pharmaceuticals and medical devices. In addition, TEQ produces recyclable, molded-pulp-fiber packaging and thermoformed plastic packaging for multiple consumer products primarily in Europe. The company has approximately 500 associates.

"The fast-growing healthcare packaging space is a key area of growth for Sonoco and with the addition of TEQ we now have a suite of products and services available to become a much larger supplier to healthcare and medical device manufacturers," said Rob Tiede, Sonoco President and CEO. "Entering 2020, Sonoco Healthcare Packaging group now includes TEQ's broad capabilities, along with our best-in-class ThermoSafeā„¢ temperature-assured pharmaceutical packaging; injection-molded vials, multi-cell cuvettes and appliances; thermoformed trays for medical devices and OTC medical products; and our Alloyd heat-sealing equipment for commercial medical applications."

Sonoco funded the TEQ transaction using short-term credit facilities and it is expected to be accretive to Sonoco's 2020 earnings. TEQ President Randy Loga and his leadership team will remain with Sonoco and TEQ's financial results will be reported within Sonoco's Consumer Packaging segment.