Alltrista Sells Plastic Packaging to Spartech, Will Focus on Thermoforming, Injection Molding

Alltrista Corp. (Indianapolis) has completed the sale of its Plastic Packaging Division to Spartech Corp. (St. Louis) for approximately $30 million. The plastic packaging unit, which had 1998 sales of $28 million, coextrudes high-barrier plastic sheet and forms containers for the food processing industry. The operation being sold represents the company's only significant packaging business.

Sale of the plastic packaging operation follows Alltrista's recent acquisition of Triangle Plastics Inc. That acquisition, according to Alltrista president and CEO Thomas Clark, made Alltrista the largest industrial plastics thermoformer in North America. Alltrista's strategy is to grow its plastics business in the industrial thermoforming and injection molding markets.

The Triangle acquisition was financed through a $250 million senior-term loan and revolving credit facility. Clark said proceeds of the sale of the plastic packaging unit would be used to pay down short-term borrowing under that facility.

As for Spartech, this purchase, says president and CEO Bradley Buechler, will strengthen the company's extruded sheet and rollstock group in a number of ways. It will increase its thin-gauge extrusion capacity, broaden its product and service capabilities in the high-barrier, co-extruded rollstock food packaging market, and add a state-of-the-art packaging technical laboratory.

Alltrista, a manufacturer of plastic and metal products, reported 1998 sales of $244 million, while Triangle Plastics' sales were $114 million.

Spartech is a producer of engineered thermoplastic materials, polymeric compounds and molded and profile products. After the acquisition, Spartech will have 40 facilities located throughout North America and Europe, with annual production capacity and sales of more than one billion pounds and $750 million, respectively.