Brook & Whittle, a provider of pressure sensitive and shrink sleeve prime labels, has expanded its shrink sleeve capabilities with the acquisition of a label converting facility in Croydon, PA, USA. The facility, Croydon, manufactures shrink sleeve labels for a variety of consumer and healthcare end markets in North America.

The acquisition enhances Brook & Whittle’s position in the supply of high-end shrink sleeve labels in North America, while also providing additional capacity to support a growing pressure sensitive film label business. Croydon, formerly known as Gilbreth Packaging Solutions, helped develop the shrink sleeve labels market over 40 years ago as one of the first to introduce gravure printing on shrink film. Croydon was in part responsible for the development of the full-bodied shrink sleeve label.  Croydon engineers solved art distortion problems on high shrink films. The site’s answers to new packaging challenges help customers differentiate their products in today’s retail environment, says Brook & Whittle.

“Croydon is a unique business based on their depth of experience in and knowledge of the shrink sleeve category, which remains a significant strategic focus for us,” states Mark Pollard, CEO of Brook & Whittle. “We are eager to focus our combined efforts on sustainable packaging solutions and to utilize the operational capabilities that Croydon provides to more effectively serve our growing customer base.”

Croydon’s facility leadership team and employees will continue to be responsible for site’s day-to-day operations. “We have a strong history of innovation, product quality and technical knowledge,” adds Brian Garnett, general manager of Croydon. “Partnering with Brook & Whittle, a market leader in our industry, will greatly enhance that value proposition to customers and provide significant growth opportunities in the market that we can take advantage of.”

Brook & Whittle is majority owned by private equity firm Snow Phipps Group. This acquisition is the second add-on transaction that Brook & Whittle completed since Snow Phipps’ initial investment in October 2017. In November 2018, Brook & Whittle acquired Prime Package & Label. “We are extremely pleased to make Croydon a part of Brook & Whittle,” explains Don Sturdivant, chairman of Brook & Whittle and operating partner at Snow Phipps. “The site will play a critical role in supporting Brook & Whittle’s growth strategy in both shrink sleeve and pressure sensitive labels.”

“We are very excited to complete another acquisition of a well-regarded label converter to support Brook & Whittle,” adds Gerald Sheehan, partner at Snow Phipps. “We are focused on partnering with leading label converters that enhance the Brook & Whittle platform, and will correspondingly continue to make significant investments in the business.”