According to a new report this week by the Rockdale Citizen, Conyers, Ga., USA, Conyers-based Pratt Industries has announced a major expansion into California with the acquisition of Salinas, Calif.-based food and agricultural packaging company, Robert Mann Packaging.

Pratt paid $60 million for the privately-owned RMP group, which has $150 million in annual sales and more than a dozen facilities in the western U.S. and Mexico, including a 350,000 sq.-ft. box making plant in Salinas.

The deal for RMP now gives Pratt a nationwide footprint in the U.S., with manufacturing sites stretching from New York to California, according to a press release from the company.

In the release, company chairman and owner Anthony Pratt said the acquisition would also help integrate his American and Australian holdings. The paper converted into packaging by the new acquisition will come from his Melbourne-based Visy Industries’ kraft paper mills in Tumut, New South Wales, Australia.

"This deal is a win-win for both Visy Australia and Pratt Industries USA," said Pratt. "It adds another major export customer for our Tumut operations and gives us a true national presence in the U.S. by opening up California, the only region we didn’t have an operation."

Exports from the Tumut mill were booming and had been boosted by the fall in the Australian dollar. "This acquisition will see high quality Australian paper exports increase by a further 80,000 tpy to the West Coast," said Pratt in the release.

"Another benefit is that this deal allows us to also introduce our lightweight paper technology to the agricultural produce community. We are the only company that can supply lightweight kraft paper, so customers will now have access to packaging that uses less paper to produce a high performance box. That in turn makes our packaging more cost effective."

Pratt also said that he wanted to continue to grow his West Coast operations to benefit his family’s Australian papermaking interests as well as those of his U.S. business. "We believe we will eventually grow the California business to $1 billion — it’s the biggest fruit and vegetable market in the world," he said.

RMP sales will move the Conyers-based Pratt to total annual sales of more than $2.5 billion, while its facilities in California, Arizona, and Mexico will bring the company’s total to more than 120 sites. The acquisition also increases Pratt’s American workforce by 200 to more than 5,100, solidifying its position as Australia’s biggest employers of Americans, according to the release.

"The agreement brings together two of the industry’s most innovative privately-owned businesses," said Pratt. "It allows us to combine the strengths and values we each bring to the marketplace to better serve all our customers across the U.S."

RMP originally started out as a warehouse distributor for packaging products but in 1971 eventually developed into a full-fledged manufacturer of corrugated packaging, initially for the fresh-cut flower industry.

Since then, the company has grown to be a manufacturer of produce boxes, bulk bins, and plastic containers for the meat, seafood, agriculture, and other food industries.

The RMP announcement comes in the same week as Pratt began construction on a new corrugated box factory in Beloit, Wis. It is due to open in early 2016. Meanwhile the company’s fourth, 100% recycled paper mill in Valparaiso, Ind., is scheduled for startup later this year.