Dive Brief:
- Sonoco ThermoSafe, an Arlington Heights, Ill. provider of temperature assured packaging, has bought Laminar Medica, based in the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic, for an undisclosed sum.
- The Sonoco unit acquired the assets and operations from Clinimed Ltd, a privately held specialty medical products company based in the U.K.
- The Laminar Medica specialty focuses on making packaging used by the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, and products that need to be refrigerated, or at frozen controls in shipments from 24 to 120 hours.
Dive Insight:
Sonoco ThermoSafe sees the deal as significantly expanding its global presence and "providing our customers local access to the widest range of insulated parcel and pallet solutions," said Russell Grissett, general manager of Sonoco ThermoSafe in a statement.
Laminar Medica, which was established in 1975, has insulated parcel and pallet shipping products that are marketed globally under brands such as ChillTherm, Freez Therm, ClimiTherm and others. The products are used to ship biopharma medications and maintain controlled temperatures.
"Laminar’s strong brands, manufacturing, design, testing and qualification capabilities in the United Kingdom and Europe complements ThermoSafe’s current footprint to provide our customers the level of trust, confidence and customer experience they have grown to expect from a global market leader in temperature-assurance solutions," Grissett added.
Sonoco ThermoSafe was founded in 1899, and has 20,000 employees working in more than 300 operations in 34 countries, serving brands in 85 countries. It estimated annual sales of nearly $5 billion.