Investment firm Graham Partners acquires fourth thermoforming company

Private equity firm Graham Partners has bought its fourth U.S.-based thermoforming company with the acquisition of James L. Villa Inc., of Oldsmar, Fla.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

The James L. Villa purchase comes on the heels of Graham Partners’ acquisition of platform company EasyPak near the end of 2017 and subsequent purchases of Tray-Pak Corp. and Nuconic Packaging LLC.

In a statement, Newtown Square, Pa.-based Graham Partners said that it considers thermoformed packaging to be an “attractive niche market” that is benefiting from increasing consumer demand for sustainable packaging options and freshly prepared, on-the-go meals.

Founded in 1979, James L. Villa is a third-generation family owned and operated business that specializes in custom thermoformed and injection molded packaging for fresh food products in supermarkets.

The addition of that business will enable EasyPak to strategically expand into the southeast while providing additional customization capabilities and scale to EasyPak’s business, Graham Partners said. “James L. Villa boasts an impressive roster of loyal, long-term customers in the grocery channel,” said Dave Furstoss, CEO of EasyPak. “We are excited to partner with the business to expand our thermoformed platform presence in the southeast. We initially acquired EasyPak with the intention to build a top-tier mid-sized thermoformer. With three subsequent complementary acquisitions completed to date, we are well on our way to achieving this vision.”