BJ Ball has made its third M&A play of the year and diversified into plastics with the acquisition of Network Marketing.

Network Marketing ceased trading on 29 November and re-opened today as part of BJ Ball's roll solutions division.

A lot of Network Marketing's work is in thermoforming, which often involves end products like biscuit trays and strawberry punnets, said BJ Ball chief executive Craig Brown.

BJ Ball will sell Network Marketing products to printers and converters, he told ProPrint.

Brown said diversifying was an important part of maintaining BJ Ball's growth.

"It's an exciting opportunity for us to further advance ourselves into plastics. We already have some business in that area, but Network Marketing is well established in that area," he said.

"We see this as a market we can service well with our reach to market. Network Marketing were predominantly a Sydney- and Melbourne-based organisation, so they see it as an exciting opportunity to extend their reach to market through BJ Ball."

[Photos: Mohawk Show by BJ Ball]

Network Marketing will move into BJ Ball's facilities in December and January, said Brown.

"Daniel Goulburn, managing director of Network Marketing, will be transitioning to BJ Ball along with a number of sales staff.  All operations and administration, in Sydney and Melbourne, will be integrated into BJ Ball."

BJ Ball announced the acquisition of Russell Carr Paper last week and the acquisition of Graph-Pak's laminating supplies division in February.

Brown told ProPrint last week that no further acquisitions were planned. That meant no further acquisitions after Network Marketing, but he wasn't then in a position to discuss the Network Marketing deal, which was still being finalised, he said.

Brown also told ProPrint that the three acquisitions had added about 5% to the company's turnover – and that the experience gained from previous deals would ensure a smooth transition with Network Marketing.

"It needs to be a seamless transition for customers. There certainly needs to be a smooth transition for staff on both sides. Behind the scenes, there is a lot of work aligning product and customer information, which we do quite efficiently," he said.

"We are committed to growing BJ Ball Group into a customer-focused business with a broad mix of products through a low-cost, high-tech service offering."

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