It will be hard to continue calling Richmond’s Great Little Box Company little.
The company, with already more than 200 staff, acquired the assets of Aldergrove-based Action Box Company on Monday. The deal is expected to boost annual sales by $2 million. The transaction is its fourth in the past two years following acquisitions of Parrot Label, Vanisle Packaging and Precision Label located in Bellingham, Washington.
GLBC president Robert Meggy said the opportunity to acquire Action Box arose as the owners were retiring from the business.
Meggy noted the sales from the company’s largest customers had been in decline since 2006 given the challenge posed by a high Canadian dollar, which affected most Canadian manufacturers. When the recession hit, orders from its largest clients fell roughly 22%. The company managed to keep overall sales figures flat through acquisition and organically increasing its client base.
With a strengthening economy, Meggy said the company experienced a 5% growth in sales from existing customers, the first time in four years the company saw sales from existing customers grow.
While he remains on the look out for further acquisitions, Meggy expects the acquisitions the company has made over the past few years will really begin to pay off next year.
“The economy’s coming back; the dollar has been more stable, and finally this year, we’re doing some true growth.”