Knowlton Development Corporation (KDC) continues its external growth strategy with the acquisition of Aromair Fine Fragrance Company Inc., a New-Albany-based, full-service manufacturer and supplier specializing in Home & Air Care categories with over 20 years of global experience, offering Product Development, R&D Innovation, QA/QC services, regulatory services and manufacturing solutions. Aromair employs more than 200 full-time employees in facilities totalling over 140,000 square feet (about 13,000m2).
This transaction comes in the wake of a series of acquisitions that KDC - a leading contract manufacturer of health and beauty-care products with its head office in Longueuil, Québec - carried out since 2014, and which allowed the company to strengthen its position as a key cosmetics and personal care supplier in North America.
“While KDC is active in many personal care categories such as deodorants, hair care, bath and body, and skin care products, Aromair represents a natural and adjacent expansion into the Home Care and Air Care products categories,” explains the company in a release.
KDC envisions Aromair as a growth platform in its portfolio of enterprises, as it will allow it to diversify its offering and develop new market opportunities, by leveraging the scale and core competencies of its combined network of companies, facilities, and clients.
“We believe that the Home Care category offers a series of growth opportunities,” said Nicholas Whitley, President and CEO of KDC. “We were particularly attracted to Aromair’s product quality and innovation and, most of all, its team of talented, highly skilled professionals. KDC and Aromair have very similar operating principles and business cultures, representing a strong alignment from the outset. We will welcome some of Aromair’s best practices into our business, while also exporting some of our best practices. The synergies from our alignment will bring tangible benefits to the combined network entity.”
KDC plans to continue its growth and become a leader in the personal care contract manufacturing industry while remaining the only North American player with the critical mass needed to play a major role internationally.
