Karville acquires Scheidegger

Karville Development LLC, a manufacturer of shrink sleeve converting and application machinery based in Miami, Florida, has acquired the complementary business of French manufacturer Scheidegger Inc. This acquisition will expand Karville’s global product line, as well as bolster service and support for Karville’s growing converter base in Europe.

A 60 year old family-owned business, Scheidegger began manufacturing shrink sleeve application machinery in Lyon, France, 20 years ago and has developed a number of unique solutions. This acquisition will enable Karville to offer a complete range of full body application machinery including high speed tamper-evident solutions.

Scheidegger was an attractive proposition for Karville. With a reputation for innovation and quality, Scheidegger has installed over 700 pieces of machinery worldwide with many major end users such as Quaker, PepsiCo, Shell, McCormick, Snapple and Unilever. Karville has successfully focused on the converting market within the shrink sleeve industry in the past and aims to leverage the experience of both companies to increase its visibility and sales to major brand owners.

‘Moving forward our vision is three-fold,’ said Karvill vice president Raul Matos. ‘First, our European business has been growing significantly on the converting side and we are planning to open a technical center, like the operation we have in Miami, to support our customer’s business. The center will offer end-to-end testing and demonstration equipment that converters will be able to use with their customers to find the right solution for difficult applications.

‘Second, this acquisition will enable us to offer a complete production line. The Karville portfolio currently covers about 60-70 per cent of applications, but the merger with Scheidegger will enable us to service 90 per cent of the worldwide market.

‘Third, we will be able to offer a new level of design and development for specialty high-volume applications.

‘Karville will continue to manufacture machinery in Scheidegger’s existing operation in Lyon, France, and the European service technicians will be cross-trained on both brands of machinery. This will ensure even faster service for Karville customers in Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Africa.’

Customers will benefit from a combined product line which will include Karville’s SleevePro machinery, which applies between 200-450 pieces/minute, and Scheidegger’s four product lines. Scheidegger’s StarTec tamper-evident line, for use in rotary labeling applications, can apply up to 600 pieces per minute, while the TamperTec stand-alone tamper-evident solution applies at 1000 pieces per minute. For fully-body sleeves, the AccuTec transfer system is ideal for end users who have very strict tolerances such as health, beauty and personal care markets where accurate alignment and visual impact are crucial, while the TransferTec is designed for higher speed full body applications.

Karville president John Price concluded: ‘This acquisition shows our customers that we are committed to taking a global leadership role in developing the shrink sleeve market and have high expectations for market growth.’