Tekni-Plex buys Ohio-based liner manufacturer

Packaging company Tekni-Plex Inc. is moving even deeper into the liner business with an agreement to acquire Sancap Liner Technology Inc. Sancap, of Alliance, Ohio, makes heat-seal, pressure sensitive and gasket-sealing liners for the pharmaceutical and food industries. The acquisition, the third liner deal for Tekni-Plex in 18 months, should be finalized next month, Tekni-Plex said. ¡°We are in the liner space and it allows us to continue our effort to be a significant global supplier in that space,¡± said David Andrulonis, senior vice president and general manager of Tekni-Plex. ¡°It¡¯s an effort to become a bigger player. ¡°It¡¯s exciting for us to increase our presence, mainly in the induction seal and pressure sensitive liner space. They do some neat things ... some very unique coating technology,¡± he said. Sale of Sancap comes less than a year after company owner Robert Stuhlmiller died in a single-engine plane crash near Beloit, Ohio. He was the only passenger in the June 2015 accident, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. While Andrulonis declined to reveal exactly how the deal came together, he did note that people at Tekni-Plex had a relationship and knew Stuhlmiller for many years. Tekni-Plex previously acquired Tech-Seal Products Inc., a maker of closure liners and inner seals in Triadelphia, W.Va., near Wheeling, in 2014. The Wayne, Pa.-based company then acquired Ghiya Extrusions Private Ltd., an Ahmedabad, India, maker of foam closure liners, in 2015. Along with liners, Sancap also makes high-barrier Saran laminations and coated pouch/bag structures for food, liquor, confection and chemical applications, Tekni-Plex said. Sancap has 460,000 square feet of space and room to grow within that area. ¡°It¡¯s a huge facility. It was a factory that started back in the ¡®60s that originally was built for building airplanes. It¡¯s a huge space. It¡¯s an opportunity to realign the business and make it an even more efficient layout,¡± Andrulonis said. ¡°We¡¯re going to be making some investments in more efficient equipment.¡± Current employment is at about 50, and the senior vice president does not expect that to change under new ownership. Tekni-Plex anticipates the deal closing in April. Along with liners, Tekni-Plex also makes tubing and medical polymers. The company operates 24 sites in eight countries in North America, Europe and Asia.