Custom Extrusion Firm Pexco LLC Has Struck Again in The Mergers and Acquisitions Market

Custom extrusion firm Pexco LLC has struck again in the mergers and acquisitions market, this time agreeing to buy custom profile extruder AllWest Plastics Inc. Of Huntington Beach, Calif., for an undisclosed sum. It the third deal in the last four months for Atlanta-based Pexco, it earlier purchased custom extruders Patrician Products Inc. Of Hicksville, N. Y., and Multitube Medical Devices SA de CV of Mexicali, Mexico. AllWest Plastics is a great addition to our organization and will help us effectively expand our business in both current market segments and to new global geographies, Pexco CEO Neil Shillingford said in a July 22 news release, "We have had quite a few busy months, " he said. "But this agreement in particular underscores the development opportunities we see in our business of custom extrusion, and its application to increasingly dynamic segments such as aerospace and lighting. " AllWest employs 32 at a 22, 500-square-foot plant in Huntington Beach, operating eight extrusion lines and using a variety of high-performance engineering resins, including acrylic, polycarbonate and polyurethane. The company is an established supplier of airplane interior components to such firms as Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier and Embraer, Pexco officials said in the release. AllWest opened in the late 1970s and has been owned since 1986 by Scott Leishman, who will remain with the business as international business development director. AllWest began as a maker of commercial lighting fixture components before moving into the aerospace market in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Pexco officials said airline industry analysts remain optimistic about the sector because of increased global air traffic, light-weighting trends to improve fuel efficiency and similar factors. Some of those same trends are improving prospects for the lighting fixture market, they added. Officials declined to provide a sales estimate for AllWest, but Pexco corporate development director Matthew Robida said by phone July 22 that AllWest enjoyed sales growth in 2010 and expects sales to grow again this year. AllWest's sales "have been growing for the last several years, " he added. "And we expect to see continued growth because of several custom development projects. " Looking ahead, Robida said Pexco remains interested in making more acquisitions. "We have a very active pipeline, particularly for custom extruders in niche markets, " he said. Even before its three recent acquisitions, Pexco ranked as North America's 17-largest pipe, profile and tubing maker, according to a recent Plastics News ranking, with related sales of $157 million. Pexco -- owned by private equity firm Saw Mill Capital Partners LP of Briarcliff Manor, N. Y. -- was formed in early 2009, when British plastics and fiber maker Filtrona PLC of Milton Keynes, England, sold its Filtrona Extrusion Inc. Business to Saw Mill for $115 million. Saw Mill in late 2009 renamed the firm Pexco, which is the brand name of the firm's medical-tubing products. Pexco employs 1, 000 at eight plants -- six in the U. S. And two in Mexico -- and said it expects to add 150 jobs throughout the company by the end of the year. Source: plasticsnews. com