Canada-based Infra Pipe Solutions Ltd., which says it is one of North America’s largest producers of high-density polyethylene pipe and conduit, announced May 12 it acquired a production facility in Jacksonville.
Infra Pipe bought the facility at 109 Stevens St. on May 8 from Flying W Plastics for $15 million. The property is north of Edgewood Avenue and west of Cassat Avenue about 6 miles west of Downtown.
Property records show it comprises a 7.58-acre property with a 177,820-square-foot building constructed in 1959.
Infra Pipe, headquartered Mississauga, Ontario, bought it through FNLR Even Flow LLC.
Flying W Plastics, a West Virginia-based manufacturer of polyethylene pipe products, sold it through FWP Real Estate Holdings LLC.
“The addition of our sixth Infra Pipe manufacturing facility marks a significant milestone in our growth,” Infra Pipe Solutions CEO Bill Donaldson said in a news release.
“It allows us to combine operational excellence, exceptional customer service, and precision manufacturing with expanded capacity, strengthening our ability to better serve customers across the United States.”
Infra Pipe said in an email that Flying W did not have any employees when the deal closed. The company said it immediately hired back the leadership and key employees, about 13, and it expects to reach about 50 employees at current plant capacity.
Infra Pipe now has four manufacturing facilities in the U.S. They are in Rockaway, New Jersey; Greeneville, Tennessee; Pryor, Oklahoma; and Jacksonville.
In Canada, its plants are in Huntsville, Ontario and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Infra Pipe said the Jacksonville facility will help the company serve increased market demand for waterworks infrastructure in the U.S., particularly in the Southeast.
The company said the facility will produce solid wall pressure pipe for use in potable water, stormwater, and wastewater applications and plans to expand production.
“They are evaluating bringing in some additional capacity / product lines in the future. They are really focused on growth,” a spokesperson said in an email.
Infra Pipe said it is backed by Fortress Investment Group, a private equity investment firm with more than $200 billion in investments and $49 billion in managed assets.
In 2020, the Jacksonville City Council unanimously approved a $100,000 grant for Flying W Plastics to subsidize building improvements at the plant.
Flying W Plastics Inc. agreed to create 28 jobs and invest an estimated $8 million to renovate the facility.