Dive Brief:

• Hilex Poly, a company who fabricates plastic bags and film, acquired Duro Bag Manufacturing Co., a paper bag manufacturer based in Florence, KY. The agreement will be finalized by the end of the second quarter.
• Duro Bags produces paper bags for many markets in the country, specializing in bags used in grocery stores, the food service industry, retail outlets and mass merchants.
• The purchase is expected to allow Hilex to expand its offerings. According to Stan Bikulege, the chairman and CEO of Hilex, the acquisition will increase the company’s portfolio of recyclable products and expand its reach into other market segments. 

Dive Insight:

Hilex Poly’s facilities are found across 12 states. The company will now have a total of 3,000 employees, plus 600 additional workers in North America.

The question of “paper or plastic” is reaching an interesting juncture, as many areas weigh bag bans at the retail level. March of 2012 saw Carpinteria, CA become the first town in the state to ban both paper and plastic bags. In April of this year, Chicago passed a ban on plastic bags, set to begin in August of 2015 for a majority of retail shops. However, many bans are not adopted into law as there is still resistance from some communities, retailers and manufacturers — although some are embracing the change. 

For some companies, disposal bags of all kinds are being phased out: In 2012, Publix launched a campaign to shift customer preference from disposable bags to reusable sacks. The company estimates that it has sold 21 million reusable bags since 2007.