Emerald Packaging has completed its first acquisition in the company’s 63-year history.
The firm, which provides flexible packaging to the produce industry, has bought the flexible packaging assets of Blower-Dempsay Corporation (BDC) in Santa Ana for an undisclosed sum and has established its second facility in southern California.
The deal for the Pacific Flexible Solutions site means the supplier’s travel time to the US-Mexico border is only three hours, down from over a day previously.
Emerald said this was not only critical to serving customers in that region but that it also provided redundant capabilities, a significant advantage in the event of any potential business disruption.
The Santa Ana facility features an eight-colour, 52-inch wide Windmöller & Hölscher printing press, two Nordmeccanica laminators, two slitters, and a thermal oxidiser. The company said it planned to add slitters with laser and hot needle capability, and a second printing press soon.
Increase in staff numbers
Emerald said its headcount is expected to rise from 250 today to more than 300 by the end of the year.
“The opportunity to expand our footprint and acquire the manufacturing assets of Pacific Flexible Solutions checked every box,” said Pallavi Joyappa, Emerald Packaging’s president.
“We’ve never had a second facility, and this location allows us to set up shop close to a key customer base, while also close to our Union City, California headquarters with equipment and capabilities that match our own. Blower-Dempsay had excellent relationships with their employees, with a culture that very much reflects our own.”
Emerald Packaging is one of the nation’s largest suppliers of flexible packaging for the produce industry. It counts Taylor Farms, D’Arrigo California, Duda Farms, Grimmway Farms, and Wada Farms among its customers.
It was the recipient of the inaugural 2026 Printer of the Year award from the Flexographic Technical Association for its print quality and sustainability efforts.
The company also won two 2026 Flexible Packaging Association silver awards – for sustainability and for the technical achievement of its 30 per cent post-consumer recycled (PCR) resin potato bag.
Family-owned firm
Founded in 1973, BDC is a family-owned manufacturing and distribution company that specialises in corrugated, folding cartons, industrial packaging distribution, and packaging engineering.
Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, Blower-Dempsay Corporation consists of Pak West, Pacific Western Container, Pacific Conveyor Systems, Pacificorr Graphics & Displays, Diamond Marketing Group and Nexis Global.
“It’s rare to align with another family-owned business that shares such a similar culture and view of how to operate a business, treat employees and support valued customers,” said Brad Jordan, president of BDC.
“We look forward to exploring synergies that are mutually beneficial, with the added advantage of having Emerald operate within our Santa Ana facility.”
In January, Emerald Packaging claimed to have replaced more than 1 million (454 tonnes) of virgin PE with PCR material over the past year.
And last October, Emerald collaborated with Idaho Package, Wada Farms, and Walmart to launch potato bags containing 30 per cent PCR plastics.
