Desch Plantpak (Desch), a portfolio company of Lincolnshire Management, has acquired Interplast Plastic Products (IPP), a manufacturer of horticulture container products headquartered in Holland.
Desch Plantpak (Desch), a portfolio company of Lincolnshire Management, has acquired Interplast Plastic Products (IPP), a manufacturer of horticulture container products headquartered in Holland. The Company manufactures and sells a variety of injection moulded pots & containers and reusable trays to a large client base of distributors and growers in the European nursery and greenhouse segments. This is Desch’s second acquisition of a manufacturer of injection moulded containers after having acquired EPLA.
IPP operates two factories, one in Holland and one in Poland, and is one of Europe’s foremost manufacturers of injection moulded products. The acquisition re-enforces Desch’s position as one of the leading producers of thermoformed and injection moulded products for the horticultural industry while simultaneously expanding its presence in the large and growing category of injection moulded containers (represents roughly two thirds of the EUR780 million European horticulture container market) and granting it greater access to the Eastern European market. In acquiring and integrating IPP, Desch will operate a combined 70-plus injection moulding machines across factories in the UK, The Netherlands and Poland, employing over 300 people and considerably expanding its client list. Combined sales in 2019 would have amounted to EUR80 million (USD94.7 million).
Jan Willem Wieringa, managing director of Desch, says: “We have been looking for a while to expand our injection moulded capacity and IPP is a great fit with a lot of complimentary products and extra capacity”.
Henk Aufderhaar, owner of the IPP who started producing pots in 1979 when he bought machines from what is now Desch’s EPLA business, adds: “I just turned 71, so the continuity for my people is most important, and with Desch we have found that. The companies have already been collaborating for many years, so that helped a lot”.
Desch and IPP combined aim to play an important role in the current transition within horticulture. Both companies have predominantly been using recycled materials for decades, and are continuously improving their products. Desch recently launched D-Tectplus and Recover as well as D-Grade Fibre, while for years already D-Grade Bio (PLA based) has been available.
Pieter Kodde, a Managing Director at Lincolnshire, says: “the Company is a strategic addition to the Desch operating platform, and we are very excited about the potential of the combined business. We look forward to working with the management teams of both companies to drive sustained growth in the coming years.”
