Acquisition Expands Sealed Air's Operations in Costa Rica

Sealed Air has purchased the Costa Rica operation of Advanced Thermoforming Enterprise (ATE), a privately owned medical thermoforming company based in Oceanside, CA. The business will be integrated into Sealed Air’s existing Medical Applications business unit, Sealed Air reported in a press release.

ATE custom designs thermoformed parts for the medical, pharma, and bio-pharma markets. Its Costa Rica operation was started in 2005. It has Class 8 (100,000) cleanroom facilities and the site is ISO 9001 certified for medical device packaging. 

“We are very excited to expand our operations to Costa Rica," said Teresa Preskar, vice president and general manager, Sealed Air Medical Applications, in the press release. "ATE enjoys excellent business relationships in the country and this site will become a key element of Sealed Air Medical’s strategic expansion into Central and Latin America. The Medical Sector in Costa Rica has experienced significant growth and a large number of our existing medical device and pharmaceutical customers have already set up manufacturing facilities there. With the purchase of ATE Costa Rica, we will provide local access to products and services with the continued benefits of the Sealed Air Nelipak design and technical expertise already in place in the United States and Europe.”

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Sealed Air does not expect the transaction to be material to its consolidated financial position or results of operations.

According to Sealed Air's press release, "the number of multinational medical device and pharmaceutical companies with operations in Costa Rica has grown extensively in the last decade, increasing from 8 companies in 2000 to 38 in 2010 and the FDA has also established an office there. In 2010, medical industry exports were $1.2bn and represented 24% of Costa Rica’s total exports. The Costa Rican government forecasts continued annual growth of more than 13% per year through 2015."

Sealed Air Medical Applications provides rigid and flexible packaging systems for the medical device and pharmaceutical industries under the Nelipak and Nexcel brands. These include high-barrier hypoallergenic films for ostomy bags, non-pvc materials for IV solutions, and custom-designed trays and die-cut lids for medical devices. In addition, the Nelipak Total Validation service provides full package testing to ISO 11607 parts 1 and 2. It maintains ISO 13485 accredited manufacturing sites, sales, and technical support throughout the world. For more details, visit www.sealedairmedical.com.