Enjay Converters buys Ohio's New Method Packaging

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

New Method Packaging has made pizza circles, cake boards and ovenable trays in Springfield, Ohio since Neil Miller founded it in 1982. On November 13, 2026, a Canadian competitor bought the company. Enjay Converters, based in Cobourg, Ontario, announced the acquisition without disclosing terms.

The deal gives Enjay its second manufacturing site and its first in the United States. New Method's 97,000-square-foot plant and 43,000-square-foot warehouse sit next to each other in Springfield. Enjay runs a 90,000-square-foot plant and a 70,000-square-foot distribution centre in Cobourg. Both companies sell the same core products to the same buyers: grocery in-store bakeries, pizza chains and food distributors.

Why it matters

Two family-run suppliers of cake boards and pizza circles become one cross-border company, cutting the number of independent North American bakery-packaging makers.

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Key Indicators

Manufacturing sites after the deal

Enjay's Cobourg plant plus New Method's Springfield plant.

97,000 sq ft

New Method production facility

Springfield, Ohio plant, with a separate 43,000 sq ft warehouse next door.

90,000 sq ft

Enjay manufacturing facility

Cobourg, Ontario plant, plus a 70,000 sq ft distribution centre.

Champlain food-sector platform investments

Count as of June 2021, when Champlain led the Enjay buyout.

1982

Year New Method was founded

Neil Miller started the company making five sizes of plain pizza circles.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Kevin Miller

President of New Method Packaging, 2006 until the sale

Retiring gradually after the acquisition

Jerad Miller

Incoming leader of New Method under Enjay ownership

Leading the Springfield operation

Jay Cassidy

Co-founder of Enjay Converters

Management shareholder as of the 2021 Champlain buyout

Organizations Involved

Enjay Converters Ltd.

Food-contact packaging manufacturer

Acquirer

Canadian maker of cake boards, party boxes, cupcake liners and piping bags for grocery bakeries and food distributors.

New Method Packaging LLC

Corrugated and paper-based food packaging manufacturer

Acquired by Enjay

Ohio maker of cake circles, ovenable baking trays and carryout boxes for bakery, pizza and foodservice customers.

Champlain Financial Corporation

Private holding company

Financial partner behind Enjay

Montreal-based private investor that backs small and mid-sized companies, with a concentration in food businesses.

Timeline

1982 November 2026

6 events Latest: 2 days ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

November 2026
Enjay announces purchase of New Method
Latest Acquisition

Terms undisclosed; Jerad Miller takes over leadership of the Springfield plant.
2 days ago • 16:57 ET
June 2021
Champlain-led group buys Enjay
Ownership

Quebec investors acquire Enjay; management stays on as shareholders.
June 29th, 2021
2012
Jerad Miller joins New Method
Leadership

He starts as operations manager, handling accounting and product design.
2012
2006
Kevin Miller takes over New Method
Leadership

He becomes president of the company he joined in 1982.
2006
1983
Enjay founded in Cobourg
Founding

Jay Cassidy co-founds the Canadian bakery packaging maker.
1983
1982
New Method opens in Springfield
Founding

Neil Miller starts the company making five sizes of plain pizza circles.
1982

Scenarios

Enjay keeps Springfield running and adds U.S. capacity

Likely Resolves by Nov 13, 2027

Discussed by: Enjay's own announcement, which says the deal gives it a second manufacturing facility to serve customers in both countries

The stated rationale is capacity, not cost-cutting. Jerad Miller stays in charge, the management team and employees stay on, and the plant keeps making ovenable trays and carryout boxes for U.S. customers. Enjay would then be able to supply American buyers from Ohio rather than shipping across the border.

Enjay folds New Method production into Canada

Unlikely Resolves by Q2 2028

Discussed by: No public party has predicted this; it is the standard risk in cross-border manufacturing roll-ups

Overlapping product lines create duplicate capacity. If Enjay decides the Ohio plant is redundant, it would shift work to Cobourg and shrink or close Springfield. A closure of that size would likely appear in an Ohio WARN Act layoff notice before any press release.

Champlain sells the combined business

Possible Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: No public party has said this; it follows from Champlain's stated model of building food platforms for growth

Champlain bought Enjay in 2021 and now has a two-plant, two-country business. Private holding companies typically sell after building scale. A sale to a larger packaging group or another private buyer would end the current ownership structure.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

June 2021

Champlain buys Enjay (2021)

A group of Quebec investors led by Champlain Financial Corporation acquired Enjay Converters, a 38-year-old family-founded packaging maker in Cobourg, Ontario. Champlain said it then managed eight food-related platform investments, with Enjay as the ninth. Founder Jay Cassidy and other management shareholders stayed on as owners and managers.

Then

Enjay kept its name, plant and management while gaining a financial backer.

Now

Five years later the same backer supported Enjay's first acquisition, turning a single Canadian plant into a two-country manufacturer.

Why this matters now

The New Method deal is the first visible use of the capital Champlain put behind Enjay in 2021. It shows how a private holding company converts an ownership change into a geographic expansion.

1982

New Method founded (1982)

Neil Miller started New Method in Springfield, Ohio, producing five sizes of plain pizza circles with his wife Loretta. The company name came from his initials. Over four decades it added cake boards, ovenable trays and carryout boxes, and stayed in the Miller family.

Then

A small regional supplier of pizza circles grew into a full bakery and foodservice packaging maker.

Now

The family sold the business in 2026, ending 44 years of Miller ownership while keeping a Miller running the plant.

Why this matters now

The sale is a succession event as much as a consolidation: Kevin Miller steps back, his son Jerad stays in charge, and an outside owner takes the equity.