TemperPack, a Richmond company that specializes in environmentally friendly packaging materials for temperature-sensitive products, said Tuesday it has reached a deal to acquire Michigan’s KTM Industries.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close later this month.
TemperPack said the purchase will bring together two leaders in the production of eco-friendly materials used in cold-chain and nonthermal protective packaging. KTM is behind a material called Green Cell Foam, which is made from U.S.-grown corn. It is not recyclable but can dissolve in water, be composted, burned or even used as plant food. TemperPack’s flagship product, called ClimaCell, is an insulation material that replaces Styrofoam coolers for use in shipping food and life sciences products. Clients include HelloFresh and UPS Healthcare.
The Richmond company also said the deal will allow it to increase its market coverage and will grow its employee count from about 350 to 700 with locations in Richmond; Las Vegas; Reno, Nevada; and Holt, Michigan.
Tim Colonnese, president and CEO of KTM, said in a statement the acquisition will create opportunities to expand its Green Cell Foam product.
“We are fully aligned with the mission of TemperPack, which is to provide engineered, protective materials that eliminate the need for synthetic foams which harm the environment,” he said in his statement. “We are pleased to be joining forces with one of the most innovative and fast-growing companies in the industry.”
The deal comes on the heels of TemperPack securing $140 million in equity financing in March from some big investment names, including Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Steve Case’s Revolution Growth and Tao Capital Partners. The round stretched the company’s lifetime funding to $250 million since its 2015 founding.
James McGoff, TemperPack’s chief product officer and a co-founder of the company, told Richmond Inno in June the company was working on a “very disruptive” new product. He declined to elaborate on that new product line, but it has been in the works for more than a year.
