Seeing The Light After A Long Shadow BY TOM WILLIAMS
The Perfect Combo Get Peak Performance From Your Equipment with Matched Component Sets
It is too soon to speak of a “post-COVID” packaging indus- try, or a post-COVID anything else. The pandemic does not yet have (and perhaps may never have) a past tense.
But, it is fair to think of the industry as emerging from the worst of the ex- perience, and to consider what this might mean for buyers and sellers of packaging businesses. One of the most notable trends we have witnessed is – despite the pandemic – the increasing activity
Tom Williams
of private equity (PE) firms in the packaging space. This is quite different from the days when anything associated with printing was almost a dirty word to these choosy in- vestors. But, how times have changed. An acquisition we antic- ipate closing as of this writing will add a major commercial print provider to the portfolio of a private equity owner in the Midwest. This financially-motivated investor did it by submitting a winning bid ahead of any strategic buyers (expansion-minded companies) who may have been inter- ested. In a transaction for a smaller digital and offset plant in the Southeast, the same thing happened. What would have been a perfect purchase for a strategic buyer instead went to a PE investor who led the field of potential buyers with the best offer. Private equity participation in print & packaging indus- try M&As is here to stay. In some cases, the interest shown by PE investors from outside the industry exceeds what we are seeing from strategic buyers within it. Most attractive to private equity are packaging firms – folding carton, cor- rugated, flexible, tag and label – and providers of specialty graphics. If your company does business in any of these areas, an overture from a PE buyer could be in your future. Spectrum of Suffering The damage that COVID-19 did to a packaging business depended mostly on the kinds of packaging it specialized in. That, in turn, hinged on what the pandemic did to the business performance of the firm’s customers. Among the worst hurt were providers of signage, banners, and display graphics to producers of trade shows, concerts, sporting events, and other activities that had to be cancelled be- cause of lockdowns. Many were decimated as demand for their products all but dried up in 2020 and 2021. On the other hand, some businesses continued to do well either because they were in a “pandemic-proof” seg- ment like packaging, or because they managed to pivot to manufacturing products that the outbreak drove a surge in demand for. One of our Mid-Atlantic clients, for example, enjoyed a record year in 2020-2021 both by making pack-
Nothing’s more rewarding
than a couple made for each other. That’s why the engineers at ARC International have focused their skills and talents on crafting perfect
matches between the components that must work in tandem on your exo folder gluers and die-cutters: • Anilox Rollers and Ink Chambers • Anilox andWiper Rollers • Feed and Pull Rollers • Glue andMeter Rollers You can achieve the press speeds and print quality you need to ll your most demanding orders by pairing your team with The ARChitects of Flexo. Contact ARC today to learn how these engineered matches of exo folder gluer and die-cutter components (new or
reconditioned) can help you achieve a more perfect union of production and pro ts.
The ARChitects of exo
ARCInternational.com 800-526-4569
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