Wilmington-based Atlantic Packaging recently acquired a company out of Maryland, marking the first northeastern U.S. purchase for Atlantic.
Chem Stretch Inc., a 25-year-old family-owned packaging distributor that specializes in stretch film packaging, was acquired by Atlantic Packaging in late June, said Wes Carter, president of Atlantic Packaging.
The Forest Hill, Maryland-based Chem Stretch was “a perfect fit for us,” Carter said. The company has about 40 employees and a 75,000 square-foot facility, which Carter said Atlantic Packaging plans to operate out of for "the next three to five years.”
This was Atlantic Packaging’s first acquisition in the Northeast and fits with the company’s goal to expand its national footprint, he said.
“We continue to expand, and where we find acquisitions that meet our objectives, we take a look at them, and this one was a good fit,” Carter said of its acquisition of Chem Stretch Inc.
The acquisition takes Atlantic Packaging’s footprint to a total of 20 operations throughout the United States, including those in major cities such as Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon.
Carter said that the company is already servicing a significant amount of business in the area, so the new distribution hub in Maryland made sense.
"Our primary customers are Fortune 500 consumer products companies and so most of those manufacturers have a national footprint because they are servicing consumers all across North America. And those customers of Atlantic Packaging expect that we can deliver the same value … in all regions,” Carter said. “It’s important that we continue to expand and have operations so that we can support these guys.”
And as the company continues to grow nationally, it's also expanding in Wilmington. Atlantic Packaging
recently shared plans to build a new, modern addition to its headquarters at 806 N. 23rd St. in Wilmington.
Carter added that the company plans to keep its headquarters in Wilmington for "many years in the future."
The company plans to break ground on the project in the fall, Carter said.
“Wilmington has always been home for Atlantic and as we continue to grow and flourish … we are still very much committed to the Port City,” Carter said. “We think this level of investment in our facility and making a nice upgrade … is a way for us to show the Wilmington community how much we appreciate the support over the years.”
