Fedrigoni Acquires Certain Assets of US-based Mohawk Fine Papers

Feb. 23, 2024 - Italian specialty paper producer Fedrigoni today announced the acquisition of certain assets of Cohoes, New York-based Mohawk Fine Papers.

Mohawk has a paper mill and converting plant in Cohoes and a converting facility for the production of envelopes in South Hadley, Massachusetts. In addition, Mohawk owns a paper converting plant in Ashtabula, Ohio (Saybrook Converting Center), which it abruptly shut down last week on Feb. 13, putting 93 people out of work.

Mohawk also owns the Crane Stationery brand, which includes fine papers used for personalized stationery, wedding invitations, holiday cards and other personalized products. Some 75 employees involved with the Crane segment of Mohawk's business in Cohoes also were abruptly terminated on Feb. 13.

The terms and specific assets involved in the deal with Fedrigoni were not disclosed.

According to Fedrigoni, the transaction was finalized through a new, yet to be named subsidiary company incorporated by Fedrigoni to acquire Mohawk's assets in a sale process initiated by a financial institution.

The deal came about "following a period of significant financial distress that affected the U.S.-based company in the past months," Fedrigoni stated in a press release.

"The transaction entirely cleared the new company from existing indebtedness, allowing to preserve the majority of existing jobs, industrial activities and customer relationships," Fedrigoni added.

Marco Nespolo, CEO at Fedrigoni Group, stated, "This is our third M&A this year (after SharpEnd in UK and Arjowiggins China), a relevant step forward to enhance our premium product offerings to customers in the U.S. in specialty papers for luxury packaging and fine digital printing."

In September 2022, Fedrigoni entered into a manufacturing partnership with Mohawk to expand its presence in the U.S. market and its distribution of specialty fine papers.

"Thanks to Mohawk's entry into our group, we will now be able to produce and distribute to customers a wide range of Fedrigoni high value-added papers directly in North America, and conversely expand access to Mohawk specialty papers internationally," Nespolo explained. "We will thus increasingly support the strategies of our customers who favor nearshoring models in place of the traditional global purchasing-oriented approach, to reduce their environmental impact and minimize the risks of supply chain disruption."

About Mohawk Fine Papers

Founded in 1931, Mohawk is a family-owned company and North America's largest privately-owned manufacturer of fine papers and envelopes that are preferred for commercial and digital printing, photo specialties and high-end direct mail.

Founded in 1888 in Verona, Italy, Fedrigoni is a manufacturer and distributer of labels and self-adhesive materials, specialty papers for luxury packaging and other creative solutions, and RFID/NFC and connected solutions.

SOURCE: Fedrigoni and local news reports