GLASGOW – Precision AirConvey (PAC), a leading manufacturer of specialty equipment that collects and shreds byproducts from the label, paper, film and sheet industries, has been acquired by Envac, a Swedish firm that leads the development of municipal pneumatic waste collection systems.
Both PAC and Envac utilize pneumatic systems, essentially pressurized tubes, to move objects. The terms of the Jan. 17 acquisition deal between the private companies were not disclosed.
“Like Envac, Precision AirConvey has enjoyed a long and successful history over a period spanning more than half a century. The strategic decision to merge with Envac will provide a platform for continued growth for both organizations and we’re excited to begin a new chapter in Precision AirConvey’s life with a world-class company such as Envac,” said PAC President and CEO Thomas Embley said in a statement announcing the sale.
Headquartered in the Pencader Corporate Center, PAC has built high-quality cutters and pneumatic convey systems to help remove, shred and dispose of unwanted paper trim and labeling matrices. Without such systems, printers and labelers can face costly clogs or lengthy downtimes as the waste byproduct is collected and removed.
Meanwhile, 69-year-old, Stockholm-based Envac, which has dozens of offices across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America, has pioneered the development of pneumatic tubes to collect municipal waste. It’s a burgeoning industry that has been adopted in major European cities like Copenhagen, Barcelona, London, and Stockholm. The company installs the underground systems like other utilities, and argues it benefits the environment and social fabric through fewer trash trucks, cleaner streets and improved separation of recycling and trash.
It’s a foreign idea in America, though such systems are famously in use by employees of Walt Disney World in Florida and by residents of Roosevelt Island in New York City. Smaller pneumatic systems are commonly used at retail bank drive-thrus, airports and in hospitals, the latter of which is the target growth area for both PAC and Envac.
PAC recently entered the hospital sector, having won a major contract to install its own pneumatic waste collection system in the 1.5 million-square-foot hospital on Penn Medicine’s west Philadelphia campus. The system became operational in October, and is expected to handle over 27 tons of general waste, dry recyclables and soiled linen 24 hours a day using 77 loading stations.
It is also currently installing a system in Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, which will be serviced by 54 stations upon completion.
The hospital sector is one of Envac’s key strategic priorities for 2022, officials said. It has established itself as a global specialist for such systems in the sector ever since it unveiled its first ever system in a Swedish hospital in 1961.
The decision to acquire PAC will not only extend Envac’s reach into new markets but also cement the firm’s position as the largest pneumatic waste collection system firm to serve the U.S., officials said. PAC’s staff of 50 employees will remain unchanged with the sale, but benefit from Envac’s technology and supply chain, which currently spans 20 countries and has been used to install over 1,000 systems worldwide.
“Precision AirConvey is a market leader with a strong reputation throughout the U.S. The decision to acquire the business is in line with our ambitions for developing the Envac brand, which is based on organic growth and strategic acquisitions that complement the systems and services we offer. This is a huge milestone in our company’s history and one that myself and my team are proud to have achieved,” Envac CEO Joakim Karlsson said in a statement.
