CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Container Services, Inc. (“CSI”), a custom blow molder known for its signature honey bear bottle, announced today its acquisition of Apex Plastics (“Apex”), a custom blow molder primarily serving the beverage and household industries. With this acquisition, CSI also announced the formation of FirmaPak, a platform of like-minded customer-focused blow molders that will be led by Rob Goldberg as Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”).
Backed by Shore Capital Partners (“Shore” or “Shore Capital”), CSI has plants in Hillsboro, Kansas and New Castle, Pennsylvania, while Apex previously operated as a division of PCE, Inc. with a plant in Brookfield, Missouri. CSI and Apex are combining their capabilities to better serve their customers and provide more opportunities for their employees. While each company will continue to operate under its own name, they will do so as part of the FirmaPak platform.
FirmaPak is launching with an experienced management team led by Goldberg, a seasoned packaging executive who has served on CSI’s Board of Directors since its original partnership with Shore Capital in January 2023. The platform represents a commitment to quality, customer service and innovation embodied by both CSI and Apex.
“FirmaPak brings together local manufacturers like CSI and Apex, with complementary capabilities and product offerings that can serve different end-markets and geographies. Our goal is to provide our customers with all the benefits that come with size and scale while preserving the personal touch that smaller companies can offer their customers,” said Goldberg.
Goldberg joins FirmaPak after most recently serving as the Global Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy at Berlin Packaging, a private equity owned supplier of glass, plastic, and metal containers and closures. Goldberg joined the company in 2015 and drove nearly forty acquisitions during his tenure. He was instrumental in Berlin Packaging’s expansion to Europe and Asia and the launch of its global beauty and cosmetics packaging vertical. Prior to that, Goldberg served in various leadership roles, including Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at New Cotai, a private equity owned integrated resort company focused on developing casinos, hotels and retail malls. He started his career as a corporate attorney and was previously a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
“Rob has been a tremendously helpful voice since joining our board and we are excited to welcome him as FirmaPak’s CEO. Coupled with his strategic thinking and steadfast determination, Rob’s intricate knowledge of the packaging value chain and extensive network will help us serve our businesses better. Rob has a passion for accelerating the growth of high-potential companies and the board is confident in his ability to propel FirmaPak to the next level of its growth trajectory,” said Brad Herbolsheimer, Lead Independent Director of the Board of FirmaPak.
“FirmaPak has built an excellent platform with a strong foundation of leaders and has a bright future ahead. I am pleased to welcome Rob as FirmaPak’s new CEO. His background and skillset make him a perfect fit for the organization and will unlock further growth opportunities for our stakeholders,” said Richard Boos, Chairman of the Board of FirmaPak and Partner at Shore Capital.
“I am thrilled to join FirmaPak and partner with our board and incredible leadership team to continue building our platform of customer-focused packaging manufacturers. While serving on the board, I have been impressed by CSI’s unwavering commitment to customer service, its efficient operations that produce quality products, and its dedicated personnel. I look forward to collaborating with our founding partner, Brent Driggers, to accelerate our growth while maintaining the quality and service our customers rightly expect. The first year of CSI’s partnership with Shore Capital has been incredible, and the addition of Apex to our family will allow us to serve our customers even better,” continued Goldberg.
“I look forward to partnering with Rob to take our business forward. His experience building world-class packaging platforms is ideal for FirmaPak, and we are well underway with the Apex acquisition,” said Driggers, President of CSI.
Led by Damon Neff for over 20 years, Apex is an ISO 9001:2015 certified plastics blow molder, specializing in custom single-stage PET and extruded HDPE plastic containers for use in the food and beverage, household products, and automotive industries, among others. Neff will continue as President of Apex under the FirmaPak platform, where he will closely partner with Goldberg and Driggers.
“I am truly excited to join forces with CSI to launch FirmaPak. This strategic partnership will help accelerate our growth across the United States and Canada and our complementary manufacturing capabilities, geographies, and end markets will allow us to better serve our customers,” said Neff.
“Damon and the entire team at Apex have built a respected company that we are thrilled to welcome to our platform. The acquisition adds a state-of-the-art facility with single-stage blow molding and a highly experienced team, providing our combined customer base with even more resources to bring their products to life. We will continue to make significant investments in our personnel, facilities and production capabilities and partner with additional plastic packaging manufacturers that share our values and customer-first approach. I could not be more optimistic about FirmaPak’s future,” said Goldberg.
To learn more about FirmaPak, please visit https://www.firmapak.com or contact Ryan Drews, VP, Strategic Initiatives (rdrews@firmapak.com).
About FirmaPak
FirmaPak is a rapidly growing platform of like-minded customer-focused blow molders. FirmaPak companies include Container Services, Inc. with facilities in Hillsboro, Kansas, and New Castle, Pennsylvania, and Apex Plastics with a facility in Brookfield, Missouri. FirmaPak’s capabilities include single-stage and two-stage custom PET and extruded HDPE packaging solutions. Backed by Shore Capital, CSI is supported by a world-class Board of Directors, with deep experience in packaging, manufacturing, and private equity. For more information, please visit: https://www.firmapak.com/.
About Container Services, Inc.
With facilities in Hillsboro, Kansas and New Castle, Pennsylvania, Container Services, Inc. is a plastics blow molder, specializing in two-stage custom PET and extruded HDPE packaging solutions and has expertise working with post-consumer recycled plastic resins. For more information, please visit: https://www.csibottles.com/.
About Apex Plastics
Based in Brookfield, Missouri, Apex Plastics is an ISO 9001:2015 certified plastics blow molder, specializing in single-stage custom PET and extruded HDPE packaging solutions primarily for the food and beverage, household, and automotive industries. Apex Plastics has a world-class quality management system that allows it to provide superior customer service and short lead times for small-to-medium production runs. For more information, please visit: https://www.apexplastics.com/.
About Shore Capital Partners
Shore Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm with offices in Nashville, is an investor in microcap companies in the healthcare, food and beverage, business services, industrial, and real estate industries. Shore’s strategy is to support management partners to grow faster with less risk, through access to capital, world-class board and operational resources, and unmatched networking, development, and shared learnings across the portfolio. For the third consecutive year in 2022, Shore received recognition from Inc. Magazine as a top founder-friendly investor, and by Pitchbook research for leading all U.S. Private equity firms in total deal volume. Shore targets investments in established, successful private companies with premier management teams, stable cash flow, and significant potential to grow through industry consolidation and organic growth to generate value for shareholders. Shore has over $6 billion of assets under management and in additional investment platforms to which it provides business and operational services. For more information, including with respect to these awards and investment platforms, please visit: www.shorecp.com.
