Returnable container suppliers merge operations

Orbis acquires the plastic pallet and container business of the Linpac Group.

-- Modern Materials Handling, 12/12/2006

Wisconsin-based returnable container supplier Orbis yesterday announced plans to acquire the North American materials handling division of the Linpac Group. The Linpac division manufactures plastic pallets and bulk containers.

Terms of the deal, expected to close by the end of 2006, were not disclosed. When the transaction is completed, Orbis will own Linpac’s two manufacturing facilities in Kentucky and a facility in Shanghai, China.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to meet the diverse and growing needs of the marketplace with an expanded product line and enhanced service levels to support our customers in North America,” says Orbis president Jim Kotek. “Additionally, it will extend Orbis’s reach into China, allowing us to quickly respond to the growing needs for returnable packaging in the Chinese marketplace.”