In the same week that a conference on mergers and acquisitions in the packaging industry was taking place in Chicago, two prominent label manufacturers in the United States became one. Smyth Companies of St. Paul, MN, has acquired Dow Industries of Wilmington, MA.

Dow Industries is a highly decorated label printer, the winner of numerous awards from around the world for its high quality flexo and digitally printed labels. Its focus has been in the health and beauty markets as well as in other consumer goods segments. It was founded in 1976 by Walter Dow, who has headed the company ever since.

“Walter Dow has been a long time friend whose company I’ve admired from afar, and I’m delighted that he has decided to tie the knot with Smyth,” says John Hickey, Smyth’s CEO. “Our goal will be to provide the industry’s highest quality label production for those companies who demand the very best.”

Smyth has been in business for 133 years, and sold a majority interest to Novacap, a Montreal- based private equity firm. With production locations in Minnesota, Virginia, and Colorado, and the addition of the Dow facility in Massachusetts, Smyth will now employ about 400 people. The company specializes in package labeling for mass marketed consumer goods products, and serves clients in the food and beverage, personal care, household care, and beer markets, among others.

Smyth sought the acquisition of Dow, Hickey says, because of Dow’s eastern US location, market reach, and print technologies employed.