Tarp maker Shur-Co expands into airbags with acquisition | Plastics News

Truck and rail car tarp company Shur-Co is expanding into airbags used to cushion products during shipping.

The Yankton, S.D.-based company acquired AB Airbags Inc. of Carlsbad, Calif., which makes inflatable plastic bags used to take up void space in shipments, reduce potential product movement and protect cargo.

"Shur-Co and AB have complementary product lines and this acquisition is a natural expansion of our existing product categories and a chance to grow our relationships with existing customers, as we work to meet their cargo control and protection needs," Shur-Co CEO Chad Heminover said in a statement.

AB Airbags founder Doug Pomeranz said selling to Shur-Co will allow for growth.

"Shur-Co will provide us with the resources to be an even better partner to our existing customers, and scale our business across new product categories, geographies, and end markets," he said in a statement.

Mesirow Investment Banking advised Pomeranz and AB Airbags on the sale of the company, and Mesirow Managing Director Rick Weil called the firm "an amazing entrepreneurial success story."

"Doug Pomeranz and his team built AB Airbags from a startup in 2012 to a sophisticated leader in cargo securement and transit packaging solutions," Weil said in a statement.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"AB's industry expertise and leadership, combined with their low-cost, high-value product portfolio and efficient, asset-light distribution model, makes AB a very attractive addition to Shur-Co, and we anticipate strong growth from this platform. This acquisition represents exactly the type of compelling, strategic expansion we set out to support for Shur-Co," said Grant Behrman, managing partner of Behrman Capital, in a statement.

Along with the company's Carlsbad location, AB Airbags has a network of warehouses around the country to reduce order times and shipping costs for customers.

Shur-Co uses vinyl coated fabrics to manufacture the company's tarps, according to the company's website. Behrman Capital, a private equity firm based in New York, acquired Shur-Co. in 2021.

Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

Please enter a valid email address.

Please enter your email address.

Please verify captcha.

Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

Find more newsletters at plasticsnews.com/newsletters.You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.