Fortis Solutions Group is a leading label and packaging converter that employs over 1,300 people across multiple manufacturing facilities in North America. The company recently announced its acquisition of the Print Division of MASA Corporation, based in Norfolk, VA, and its additional Print Division facility in Decatur, AL.

With 21 manufacturing sites Fortis is committed to continued growth opportunities, emphasized by attractive acquisitions that further the company’s product range. Plus, new facilities increase access to a growing customer base across North America.

Other recent acquisitions for Fortis include West Coast Labels, Digital Dogma, and Anchor Printing, among others.

“Having consummated 21 acquisitions since 2010, M&A is a critical tool for Fortis’ development,” explains Ryan Green, vice president of M&A, Fortis Solutions Group. “However, we remain deliberate in the types of companies we pursue. Our investment criteria have always centered on best serving our customers by adding capabilities, capacity, or talent to the organization.”

The most recent acquisition, MASA Corporation, comes with several inherent advantages. MASA Corporation is a national, full-service provider of custom labels, contract packaging, packaging and equipment supplies serving manufacturers and distributors of food and beverage, wine and spirits, personal care and cosmetics and industrial end markets.

“With the Fortis and MASA headquarters located 20 minutes apart in Virginia Beach and Norfolk, respectively, there was a long-standing familiarity and shared respect between the two organizations,” notes Green. “When the opportunity presented itself, we were excited by the potential to partner with the Fraim family to help grow the labels business they had built.”

MASA’s rich history spans more than 40 years. Today, The MASA Corporation has three shareholders, with Thomas E. Fraim holding a controlling interest in the common stock through a family limited liability company composed of three Divisions: Custom Label Division, Contract Packaging, Packaging Equipment and Supplies Division, and the Distribution Division.

“MASA’s reputation was founded on strong customer relationships fostered through outstanding customer service,” says Green. “We felt MASA’s client-focused value proposition and food, beverage, and consumer products end markets complement Fortis’ strategies. Lastly, MASA serves an attractive mix of Fortune 500 and SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) that can benefit from Fortis’ expanded product lines and national footprint.”

Fortis’ strategy has driven growth across numerous verticals. Its expanding footprint has been advantageous for reaching customers expeditiously in various locations.

“We’ve been very fortunate to sustain continued growth across all five of our core product categories: labels, shrink sleeves, flexible packaging, folding cartons, and label applicators,” comments Green. “We strive to provide our customers with a differentiated solutions-oriented approach and believe that the relationships we’ve developed with those customers have been the driving force in our success.

“We focus on being excellent, ongoing stewards of our acquired businesses while supporting their growth by leveraging our best practices, capital resources, and vendor relationships,” he adds. “To find the right balance, we seek to embrace local representation in the critical operating functions that have made the businesses we partner with successful.”