JBT Corporation buys tray sealing specialist Proseal in £220m deal

JBT Corporation has signed an agreement to acquire Proseal, a provider of tray sealing technology for the food industry, in a deal worth £220 million.

Headquartered in Adlington, UK, Proseal has additional production facilities in Richmond, Virginia, and Melbourne, Australia.

Proseal’s tray sealing packaging technology is used across a range of food products, including ready meals, fresh produce, sandwiches, and proteins, to enhance freshness by sealing the product with film over a preformed tray.

JBT said Proseal has been at the “leading edge of developing environmentally friendly packaging that minimises the use of plastics while reducing food waste by extending the product’s shelf life”.

Tom Giacomini, JBT CEO, said: “The acquisition of Proseal represents an important expansion of JBT’s capabilities, adding significantly to our end-of-line market position and advancing our strategy of providing full-line customer solutions. Moreover, we believe Proseal’s technology affords growth opportunities around the globe.”

Carlos Fernandez, JBT executive vice president and president, liquid foods, added: “Tray sealing is relevant to many of our food-tech customers, particularly in the rapidly expanding market for convenience foods.”

The acquisition is expected to boost JBT’s annual revenue by approximately $100 million. Closing of the deal is scheduled for the second quarter of 2019.

Last July, JBT acquired Netherlands-based food equipment and solutions provider FTNON for €32 million to expand in the fruit and vegetable market.

FTNON, which is headquartered in Almelo, serves the fresh-cut and thermal food market with a focus on peeling, steaming, de-coring, washing, slicing and blanching.