Foodservice products maker Handgards extends reach with acquisition

Handgards Inc., a manufacturer of disposable foodservice products, has acquired foodservice tableware maker EMI Yoshi Inc. of Somerville, N.J.

EMI Yoshi serves the catering and hospitality industries. El Paso, Texas-based Handgards said the acquisition will help expand its reach in the Northeast, and EMI Yoshi's main warehouse in Orangeburg, S.C., will provide greater distribution access in the Southeast.

EMI Yoshi's products range from polypropylene tumblers and polystyrene salad plates to lids, trays and utensils. Its 20-plus brands include GlimmerWare, Small Wonders, Caterer's Collection and Waves.

Handgards said those products will complement Handgards' line while expanding its offerings in tabletop products.

Handgards' institutional foodservice products for schools, hospitals and prisons include protective apparel and accessories such as polyethylene aprons and bibs, caps and chef's hats. The company also makes disposable and reusable gloves, pan liners, flexible packaging and reclosable food-storage bags.

It manufactures film using a variety of PE and nylon resins and does flexographic printing.

Originally founded in 1959 as Plasticsmith, the company changed its name to Handgards in 1966, and moved from Northbrook, Ill., to El Paso in 1973.

Today, Handgards employs nearly 300 people at the 250,000-square-foot El Paso manufacturing plant, corporate offices and distribution center.

Handgards has been a portfolio company of Chicago-based private equity firm Wind Point Partners since 2020.

Wind Point principal Peter Leemputte noted in a March 18 news release that EMI Yoshi is Handgards' second acquisition in the segment, following its 2022 purchase of Fineline Settings Inc. of Middletown, N.Y. Fineline makes drinkware, cutlery and other tableware as well as and deli containers,

Handgards plans to make additional acquisitions, Wind Point said.

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