FDBusiness.com

Bosch Packaging Technology, a leading supplier of process and packaging technology, has agreed to acquire Kliklok-Woodman Corporation. US-based Kliklok- Woodman is a globally recognized manufacturer of packaging machinery for the food industry. The company supplies customers worldwide from its US headquarters and a second manufacturing facility, Kliklok International, located in Bristol in the United Kingdom. In 2014, it generated sales revenue of approximately $65 million (Eur49 million). It has been agreed that the purchase price will not be disclosed. The acquisition is subject to the approval of antitrust authorities.

“This planned acquisition will further extend Bosch Packaging Technology’s position in the food and confectionery industry. Above all, it will enhance our system capabilities as single-source supplier,” says Friedbert Klefenz, president of the Bosch Packaging Technology division.

Friedbert Klefenz, president of Bosch Packaging Technology.

Kliklok-Woodman has more than 60 years of experience in the packaging of goods such as pastries and confectionery, frozen food, and dairy products. The company focuses mainly on the development, manufacture, and marketing of secondary packaging machinery such as end-load cartoners and top-load erectors and closers, and of primary packaging machinery such as vertical form, fill, and seal machines.

“This is great news for our customers, especially those with growing global operations, those who value single source systems responsibility, and those who desire variety in their flexible packaging formats,” says Bill Crist, CEO of Kliklok-Woodman. “We are proud of this strategic change, which has the potential to provide our successful, international associate team with further opportunities and aligns with the core values and reputation we have built over 60 years.”

In particular, Kliklok-Woodman’s range of secondary packaging machinery will complement Bosch Packaging Technology’s portfolio for the food and confectionery industry.

In recent years, Bosch Packaging Technology has made a number of acquisitions to strengthen its worldwide market presence and extend its product portfolio. The planned acquisition of Kliklok-Woodman follows the purchase of Ampack (Germany) in 2012 and Osgood Industries (USA) in 2015. In the former case, Bosch extended its product portfolio to include cup- and bottle-filling machines for liquid food products, while in the latter it strengthened its market presence in the North American food packaging industry.