Movers & Shakers: Seneca Foods auction dates set; Lorenz Conveying Products acquires Flow Valves

Acquisitions, Mergers & Partnerships

Auction dates set for Seneca Foods in Modesto, Calif.

Schneider Industries, New Mill Capital and Smith Food Machinery have set auction dates of Oct. 23, 24, 25, 30, 31 and Nov. 1 to sell more than 5,000 lots of fruit processing, canning and plant support equipment at Seneca Foods in Modesto, California. The sale of equipment assets will consist of thousands of pieces of equipment used for fruit receiving, processing, packaging and plant support. Inspections are available by appointment and open inspection to the public will take place Oct. 15–29 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The approximately 1,846,000-square-foot facility is one of the largest single location fruit processing and packaging operations in the world. The equipment consists of raw receiving, extraction, syrup production, evaporation, stainless processing, decanters, optical sorting lines, blanching, 23 can filling and seaming lines, 28 can cooker coolers, a hydrostatic can cooker, a complete cherry coloring plant, a complete fruit cocktail plant, slicing, dicing, secondary packaging and all plant support. The auction will be conducted in an online only format. 

Lorenz Conveying Products acquires Flow Valves International

Lorenz Conveying Products, a Canadian manufacturer of pneumatic conveying products, acquired Flow Valves International in Evanston, Illinois, the manufacturer of Syntron and SMS Iris flow control valves. The newly named Lorenz Conveying Products USA Inc. plant, located in Normal, Illinois, will remain with current employees and resources in place.

REHAU acquires MB Barter & Trading

REHAU Verwaltungszentrale AG and MB Barter & Trading AG, two Swiss polymer companies, signed an agreement for a merger of equals. This integration aims to combine the strengths of both into a new and independent company with a volume of USD $2.5 billion. The transaction includes REHAU GmbH in Muri bei Bern, Switzerland, as well as the worldwide subsidiaries of the MBT Group.

The new company strengthens its competencies in polymer-based solutions and thus offers more competitive prices as well as more efficient and optimized trading and distribution services to the clients, an official announcement said. In addition, the merger presents significant opportunities for digitalization, recycling solutions and global expansion.

The name of the new company will be communicated at a later point in time. The Board of Directors will consist of Jobst Wagner, current president of the Board of Directors at REHAU and Thomas Endres, current president of the Board of Directors at MBT. The Executive Committee will be led by Dr. Stefan Girschik as CEO, while Philipp Endres will act as deputy CEO and Marco Zahnd as CFO. With Endres, another family representative of MBT will remain in a leading position within the new company.

Rayonier Advanced Materials sells resins business for $16.5M

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. sold its resins business to LRBG Chemicals, a company to be led by the current resins business management team, for a purchase price of approximately $16.5 million. The business, with manufacturing locations in Longueuil, Quebec and Toledo, Ohio, produces chemical resins used in the manufacturing of oriented strand board (OSB), hardboard and other engineered wood products. The business was originally acquired as part of the company’s acquisition of Tembec in November 2017. Paul G. Boynton, Chairman, President and CEO of Rayonier Advanced Materials said the sale of the resins business allows the company to divest a non-core petroleum-based chemical asset.

Univar to acquire Nexeo

Univar Inc., a global chemical and ingredient distributor and provider of value-added services, and Nexeo Solutions Inc., a global chemicals and plastics distributor, entered into a definitive agreement for Univar to acquire Nexeo in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $2 billion, including the assumption of Nexeo’s debt and other obligations, or $11.65 per Nexeo share, subject to adjustment. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is anticipated to close in the first half of 2019, subject to the approval of both Univar and Nexeo shareholders, as well as receipt of regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary conditions.

Consistent with its focus on chemicals and ingredients distribution, Univar hired an external advisor to evaluate strategic alternatives for Nexeo’s plastics business, which may include a potential divestiture. Nexeo’s Plastics business is a distributor of prime thermoplastic resins and other products supporting OEMs, molders and design firms, and will represent less than 10 percent of the combined companies’ earnings. The business will continue to be led by Shawn Williams, executive vice president (EVP) Nexeo Plastics. The review is expected to be completed concurrent with the close of the transaction.

Breen, Chroma, Carolina and Hudson Color to combine as Chroma Color Corporation

Breen, Chroma, Carolina and Hudson Color are combining technical capabilities, manufacturing capacity and geographic footprint into one business entity — Chroma Color Corporation. The company is a specialty color and additive concentrate supplier in the plastics marketplace. The business, with sales of greater than $150 million, currently has extensive technical and manufacturing color masterbatch capabilities throughout the United States. Arsenal Capital Partners has been strategic investor in the company since late 2017.

Appointments & Promotions

CGW announces Mike Sullivan as president

CGW-Camel Grinding Wheels announced Mike Sullivan as president for CGW and PASCO in the U.S. and Canada. Sullivan brings 35 years of abrasives experience to the position. He previously served as vice president at United Abrasives/SAIT and director of industrial coated abrasives product management and marketing at Saint-Gobain.

PreGel America appoints new director of operations

PreGel America, the North American headquarters of Italian-based specialty dessert ingredient manufacturer, PreGel S.p.A., appointed John Gibson as director of operations. Having been with the company since 2013, Gibson was promoted from his previous role as production manager and has more than 25 year of progressive experience in the dessert industry.

Somic America adds 3 service technicians

Somic America, which offers design support for cartons, retail-ready and wraparound cases, hired three new service technicians. Service team leader Daniel Freeman is a U.S. Army veteran with 14 years of supervisory maintenance experience and was most recently a mechanical technician for a Minnesota service provider of servo systems and motion-controlled packaging machines. Andre Jackson has more than 17 years of experience, serving mostly as a field service engineer or system engineering technician. Jesse White joins Somic America with experience in the food processing industry as a machine maintenance technician.

Services & Partnerships

Vibra Screw expands vibrating feeder and conveyor line 

Vibra Screw Inc. expanded its vibratory feeder and conveyor lines through an exclusive license agreement with Mavi Maquinas Vibratorias Ltda, Brazil.  The agreement, covering North America, gives Vibra Screw access to Mavi’s 50 years of experience, which has made it the largest supplier of vibrating feeders and conveyors in South America. Using the latest resonant conveying technology, Vibra Screw can now offer vibrating conveyors up to 50 feet long and rates up to 8,000 ft³/hr. The agreement also expands Vibra Screw’s range of vibrating spiral elevators, vibrating pan and tube feeders and vibrating screens. With the right to manufacture all Mavi products in the U.S., Vibra Screw will be able to offer their advanced technology in products made in the United States.

Polymer Resources expands signature services

Polymer Resources Ltd., a U.S. compounder of high-quality engineering resins, launched major new additions to its "Signature Service" offering this year. Investments include additional customer service, sales and technical staff; new Express Services for resin manufacturing and color matching; and new strategically located warehousing facilities. The company has expanded its field sales team by 30 percent to increase face-to-face engagement with customers. Additional technical and color lab employees support Polymer Resources’ new Express Services offerings designed to accommodate short forecast orders and increase speed to market, including: Express Manufacturing Service, which offers a one-week turnaround on orders for standard and customer-formulated resin grades; and Express Color Matching Service, which provides precisely matched color chips for approval by the customer, when needed within one week.