Key Takeaways
- • Gravis, a New Water Capital portfolio company, acquired Western Packaging Solutions, a Montreal-based distributor of flexible bulk containers, container liners, and industrial bags serving industrial and commercial end markets.
- • The acquisition expands Gravis's North American footprint, particularly strengthening its Canadian presence as it pursues positioning as the leading North American bulk transportation packaging provider.
- • Western Packaging represents the latest add-on acquisition in New Water's roll-up strategy, following seven prior acquisitions since the platform's inception in December 2022 with Bulk Lift International.
- • Gravis, now headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, operates under CEO Vishal Rao and serves food and beverage, agriculture, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and industrial materials sectors with flexible bulk containers, bulk liners, stretch films, and related packaging materials.
- • The platform has executed sequential acquisitions spanning multiple geographies—Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois, New York, and now Quebec—demonstrating an active consolidation strategy in the bulk packaging distribution space.
Summary
Gravis, a portfolio company of New Water Capital, has completed an acquisition of Western Packaging Solutions, a packaging distributor headquartered near Montreal in Kirkland, Quebec. The transaction strengthens Gravis's market position in bulk transportation packaging and expands its operational footprint into Canada.
Western Packaging operates as a distributor specializing in flexible bulk containers, standard and custom-formatted packaging solutions, container liners, woven polypropylene products, and industrial bags. The company serves customers across industrial and commercial sectors. Gravis, the acquiring platform, manufactures large-volume packaging products including flexible bulk containers, bulk liners, pallets, stretch films, and related materials used to store, transport, and protect dry bulk goods across food and beverage, agriculture, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and industrial materials industries.
New Water Capital initiated the Gravis platform with its December 2022 acquisition of St. Louis-based Bulk Lift International. The company subsequently expanded through add-on acquisitions: Bagwell Supply (Georgia, 2022), BulkSak (North Carolina, 2023), JumboBag (Georgia, 2023), Norwood Paper (Illinois, 2023), Powertex (New York, 2024), and Procon Pacific (Illinois, 2026). In March 2024, New Water formalized these holdings under the Gravis umbrella as a dedicated holding company. Gravis is led by CEO Vishal Rao and operates from Rolling Meadows, Illinois.
According to Rao, "Western Packaging is a highly respected provider of flexible and bulk packaging solutions with deep customer relationships and a strong reputation. This acquisition represents an important step in strengthening our position as North America's leading provider of bulk transportation packaging by meaningfully expanding our Canadian footprint." The transaction reflects New Water's consolidation strategy in the fragmented bulk packaging distribution market, leveraging established customer relationships and geographic expansion to build platform scale.
Western Packaging operates as a distributor specializing in flexible bulk containers, standard and custom-formatted packaging solutions, container liners, woven polypropylene products, and industrial bags. The company serves customers across industrial and commercial sectors. Gravis, the acquiring platform, manufactures large-volume packaging products including flexible bulk containers, bulk liners, pallets, stretch films, and related materials used to store, transport, and protect dry bulk goods across food and beverage, agriculture, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and industrial materials industries.
New Water Capital initiated the Gravis platform with its December 2022 acquisition of St. Louis-based Bulk Lift International. The company subsequently expanded through add-on acquisitions: Bagwell Supply (Georgia, 2022), BulkSak (North Carolina, 2023), JumboBag (Georgia, 2023), Norwood Paper (Illinois, 2023), Powertex (New York, 2024), and Procon Pacific (Illinois, 2026). In March 2024, New Water formalized these holdings under the Gravis umbrella as a dedicated holding company. Gravis is led by CEO Vishal Rao and operates from Rolling Meadows, Illinois.
According to Rao, "Western Packaging is a highly respected provider of flexible and bulk packaging solutions with deep customer relationships and a strong reputation. This acquisition represents an important step in strengthening our position as North America's leading provider of bulk transportation packaging by meaningfully expanding our Canadian footprint." The transaction reflects New Water's consolidation strategy in the fragmented bulk packaging distribution market, leveraging established customer relationships and geographic expansion to build platform scale.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.