Nordson Corp. said it will acquire extrusion-dies producer EDI Holdings Inc. for $200 million as it seeks to expand its presence and offerings in the flexible packaging and plastic processor markets.

Publicly traded Nordson, which makes precision dispensing machines for the manufacturing of consumer goods, stated it anticipates the transaction will close in its third quarter and expects the acquisition of EDI to be accretive to the company's earnings in the first full year of operation.

EDI Holdings, also known as Extrusion Die Industries, based in Chippewa Falls, WI, employs approximately 317 people, with additional operations in Cologne, Germany and Shanghai, China. The company will now operate as part of Nordson's adhesive dispensing systems segment.

EDI's operations include its March 2012 acquisition of Premier Dies Corp., which augmented the company's slot coating and flat polymer extrusion dies offerings.

In 2010, EDI's board agreed to sell the company to private equity firm Bertram Capital, which at the time marked the company's first ownership change since a 2003 management buyout. EDI's other acquisitions included the 2007 purchase of slot-die manufacturer Liberty Coating Systems and the purchase of Quality Machine, which offered reworked blown-film dies and chrome-plated cooling and winding rolls.

EDI serves a wide range of customers, from Fortune 500 companies to custom plastics processors to extrusion equipment OEMs, who use the company's custom-designed proprietary extrusion dies, feedblocks and auxiliary equipment to produce polymer products, from multi-layer barrier films for food and beverage flexible packaging to micron-scale coatings for flat panel displays to separator films for batteries.

EDI also provides services such as equipment re-manufacturing, process labs for customers to run pilot tests on new products, and technical support contracts to consult with customers on enhancing productivity and improving uptime.

Nordson president and CEO Michael Hilton stated that EDI's presence in the global plastics processing equipment industry is a clear fit for Nordson's strategy of acquisitions that provide differentiated precision technology.

"Much like Nordson, EDI provides industry-leading products that are critical enabling technologies for end users to optimize productivity and uptime, yet these products are a relatively small portion of the total extrusion systems and coating lines on which they operate," he said. "EDI's strong customer relationships and installed product base also provides multiple recurring revenue opportunities, including upgrades, replacements, or maintenance to existing products. In addition, EDI complements Nordson's existing extrusion die product line, providing scale, product breadth and geographic reach to the Verbruggen platform."

Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Westlake, OH, Nordson has operations and offices in more than 30 countries. The company engineers, manufactures and markets products and systems used for dispensing adhesives, coatings, sealants, biomaterials and other materials.  

Nordson serves a wide variety of end markets including packaging, nonwovens, electronics, medical, appliances, energy, transportation, construction, and general product assembly and finishing.