American company acquires Cobourg’s Horizon Plastics International for $63M

A longtime plastic moulding company in Cobourg has been acquired by an American firm.

In a press release issued late Tuesday night, Core Molding Technologies (Core) of Columbus, Ohio, announced it has acquired all of the assets of Horizon Plastics International Inc. (HPI) — a company that’s been in the town of Cobourg for more than 45 years and also has a facility in Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

Launched in 1972 in Cobourg, HPI focuses on custom low-pressure structural plastic moulding.

The deal was a $63 million all-cash acquisition, stated Core president and CEO Kevin Barnett. He said HPI will help diversify Core’s customer base and end-markets.

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“HPI is a leader in structural foam and structural web moulding and continues to innovate around these moulding technologies,” said Barnett. “In addition to new technology offerings, the acquisition brings us existing programs with industry-leading customers in several new markets, experienced leadership, a motivated and capable workforce, and expanded geographic reach.

“We intend to utilize this significant knowledge base and capabilities resident in both facilities to continue to grow the HPI operations.”

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Around 210 people work at the Cobourg operation at the Northam Industrial Park.

HPI owner and Cobourg resident Brian Read said he was looking for the right partner to help the company grow. HPI was launched by Clay Elliott and Albert Traub. Read, a partner with the company since the 1980s, acquired the balance of company shares in 2003.

He tells CHEX News this transaction is “exciting news” for HPI’s future.

“As a long-term Cobourg resident and business owner, future stability of the organization and support of our outstanding technical and production teams was a high priority,” Read stated.

“I also favoured a strategic partner with the scale and technology foundation to continue growing these specialized processes into expanded applications,” he said. “Core Molding Technologies is that partner.”

HPI had annual sales for its fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2017, of approximately $60 million, a release stated.

Core also plans to continue all HPI operations and “does not expect any significant restructuring, shut-down or employee severance costs.”

Barnett praised HPI’s system which uses nitrogen gas with melted polymer to reduce the part weight by 20 per cent to 30 per cent or more compared to traditional injection moulding processes.

“We are excited about adding the structural foam and structural web technologies to our growing portfolio of processes, and to advancing the opportunities the HPI team has under development,” Barnett said.

“Additionally, we see opportunities to offer the structural foam and structural web technology to our existing customers and to cross-sell our current processes to HPI’s customers,” he said.