5.10.8.4Vertical

Thermoformed Plastic Packaging

Companies producing thermoformed plastic trays and clamshell packaging.

Market snapshot

These figures describe Rigid Plastic Packaging (5.10.8), the segment that Thermoformed Plastic Packaging sits within. They are not figures for Thermoformed Plastic Packaging on its own.

Market size
~$17B
Growth
~9.2%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~184 firms
Firms by employee count

32.6% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 60 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe124 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
6754%
100–499
3528%
500+
2218%

The fastest growth on the page, on beverage and household bottles, but it is also the segment most exposed to policy: recycled-content mandates and extended producer responsibility rules are landing now and change the cost base rather than the demand. Underwrite the resin and compliance position, not the volume trend.

NAICS 326160. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Rigid plastic bottle and container manufacturing

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$93,158,315
Revenue per employee
$446,616
Employees per firm
205.1
Recurring revenue
High

recurring beverage/consumer demand

EBITDA margin
Scale- and resin-cost-driven
Capex intensity
High

Characteristics

  • Scale-driven: payroll is only 13% of revenue, so the cost base is assets, not headcount
  • Thin strategic-buyer pool: only 22 firms exceed 500 employees, so exits skew sponsor-to-sponsor
  • Led by Berry, Amcor, ALPLA, Silgan, Plastipak.
  • Center of the plastics-sustainability debate.
  • Recycled content (rPET) and lightweighting key themes.

NAICS 326160. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

M&A deal context

Deal activityHigh

Who’s acquiring

  • Rigid-packaging majors
  • PE-backed platforms
  • Recycled-content & sustainable acquirers

What’s driving deals

  • Recycled-content and sustainable-packaging investment.
  • Consolidation around scaled converters.
  • Beverage and consumer-product demand.

Find Thermoformed Plastic Packaging acquisition targets

Search Acquisera’s index for companies classified under Thermoformed Plastic Packaging (5.10.8.4) and build a targeted deal pipeline.

Search companies