Atlantic Packaging Products Ltd., Toronto, has formed a joint venture sheet feeder plant that will operate in Carol Stream, Illinois. The joint venture, called BlackHawk Corrugated, will be co-owned and operated by Atlantic and its  partner StandFast Packaging, Addison, Illinois, and is expected to be fully operational by late 2015, Atlantic says. 

Dave Boles, president at Atlantic, says, "As a privately held company with a strong balance sheet and a history of successfully green fielding our own paper mills and corrugated plants in Canada, Atlantic is prepared to move quickly and offer new JV opportunities to independent box plants across several U.S. regions that will create multiple profit centers for our partners and a clear path to full vertical integration that the traditional sheet feeder models simply cannot support. We are not just looking for sheet supply contracts, but are also seeking to build true partnerships that will thrive and grow with us in the U.S. markets.”

Boles says the decision to form the joint venture is partly in response to the consolidation taking place in the North American corrugated packaging market. The company deemed it essential for its long-term growth strategy to develop joint ventures.

Assisting Atlantic with the joint venture is G2Capital Advisors, Boston, which is acting as Atlantic Packaging’s exclusive strategic advisor on executing its U.S. growth initiative. Atlantic says the Chicago project is the first of what it expects to be several joint venture initiatives that it is developing in the U.S. Midwest and Northeast.

"We have spoken with a significant number of independent box plants located across the Midwest and Northeast and there is clearly an appetite for them to secure their long-term paper supply with a reputable, quality supplier who offers competitive market pricing," says Jeffrey Unger, CEO at G2 Capital Advisors. "Additionally, those business owners we have spoken to who have a more sophisticated understanding of the markets and a well-defined growth strategy are intrigued by what Atlantic can offer them; a true long-term partnership with an investment model that can expedite and support their growth through multiple profit centers, beyond just sheet supply, in times of economic uncertainty within these markets."