Clear Lam Packaging, Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill., plans to sell its thermoforming division to D&W Fine Pack, a leader in the foodservice packaging industry and a portfolio company of Mid Oaks Investments, LLC.  The sale includes facilities located in Elk Grove Village, Ill., Vernon, Calif., and one international facility in Nanjing, China.  

Terms of the sale are not being disclosed. BMO Capital Markets served as exclusive financial advisor to Clear Lam in the transaction.

With annual sales of approximately $80 million, the Clear Lam thermoforming division is a major supplier of food packaging containers made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polylactic acid (PLA) to leading North American food processors and retailers.

“We are big believers in the thermoforming sector, and believe that the combination of our companies will make the business uniquely qualified to serve the marketplace,” says James Sanfilippo, president and CEO of Clear Lam Packaging, Inc. “We also recognize that scale is important for sustained growth in our industry, and we expect our customers to benefit from the addition of D&W Fine Pack's other thermoforming product offerings and diverse manufacturing locations.”

“Combining Clear Lam thermoforming with D&W’s existing portfolio of businesses will add innovative products and strengthen our focus on sustainability and environmental stewardship,” says Mark Staton, president and CEO, D&W Fine Pack, based in Fountain Inn, S.C. “With demand for renewable packaging materials growing, Clear Lam has made great strides in bringing new designs and technologies to market and we’re excited to tap into their technical expertise.”

Clear Lam will continue to own and operate its other three divisions, which accounted for more than 65% of company revenue in 2011. Clear Lam plans to expand its flexible films and forming films divisions and anticipates explosive growth in its CL Polymers unit, which manufactures proprietary compounds designed to improve performance characteristics for both bioplastics and traditional petroleum-based plastics.

“Clear Lam will continue to invest in new technologies that provide innovative solutions to our customers while reducing costs,” says Sanfilippo. “Developing new packaging structures that incorporate renewable raw materials or recycled content and designs that allow for light weighting will remain key areas of focus for the next several years.”