A Tennessee-based specialty label maker has acquired a 36-year-old Little Chute-based competitor in a move to expand its variable information label capabilities.
Morrison, Tennessee-based Iconex on Aug. 6 acquired Heartland Label Printers, a maker of stock and custom thermal labels, as well as the company’s production facilities in Little Chute and Rancho Cucamonga, California.
The terms of the acquisition were not provided.
Heartland in 2017 expanded its Little Chute production facility at 1770 Stephen St. to 130,000 square feet and added capabilities to manufacture thermal transfer ribbons, prime labels and receipt rolls, according to its website.
Heartland Label Printers isn’t Iconex’s only connection to the Fox Cities area, though. Iconex is part of the M2S Group, an Appleton-based conglomerate whose subsidiaries include Appvion and Nekoosa Coated Products and other specialty label and film manufacturers.
Heartland’s 170 employees will transition to Iconex along with the company’s facilities and business operations, said M2S Group CEO Paul Charapata, in a media release.
“We are excited to welcome the Heartland Label Printers team to M2S Group and Iconex. This acquisition aligns with our material science focus, expands our variable information label capabilities, and brings together two organizations with a shared commitment to valued customer partnerships,” Charapata said in the release.
Founded in 1990, Heartland Label Printers specializes in direct thermal, thermal transfer, linerless and specialty variable information labels. Variable information labels can be commonly found on grocery, health care, food service and other products that require bar codes, serial numbers, expiration dates and other numbers that can change from one product to the next.
“I have developed a great deal of respect for the M2S team and their vision. I believe they value what has made Heartland successful – our people, our culture, and our commitment to our customers. I genuinely believe this partnership creates exciting opportunities for Heartland’s future,” said Heartland Vice President and General Manager Jamie Hillend in the media release.
Iconex provides variable informational products to the food and beverage, retail, grocery, pharmacy, ecommerce, distribution, manufacturing and logistics markets. Iconex and M2S officials said the acquisition brings together two companies with shared workplace cultures focused on shared commitment and delivering value to customers.
“Heartland has built an outstanding reputation in the market, and we believe the combination of our teams, resources, and expertise will create even greater value for our customers, suppliers, and team members,” said Lenny Marano, M2S Group’s chief commercial officer, in the media release.
Contact business reporter Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X at @JeffBollier.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Little Chute specialty label maker acquired by Tennessee manufacturer
Reporting by Jeff Bollier, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
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By Jeff Bollier, Appleton Post-Crescent | USA TODAY Network
