ACT Venture Capital has spent £2 million on a 20 per cent share holding in Americk Ltd, valuing the company at £10 million.

Americk is a holding company for a group of companies involved in the packaging industry. It has a turnover of £18 million and employs 210 people at plants in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, and Clondalkin and Balbriggan in Co Dublin. Annual profits are understood to be somewhere over £1 million.

Americk was established in the late 1980s by Mr Patrick Doran, who was previously involved in establishing Doran Packaging Ltd and New Era Packaging Ltd.

Prior to the ACT investment, Americk was wholly owned by Mr Doran and his two sons, Patrick and Joseph Doran.

The subsidiary companies of Americk are Marchmont Packaging Ltd, Clondalkin, Webtech (NI) Ltd, Enniskillen, and Webtech International Ltd, Balbriggan.

Marchmont produces printed folded cartons for the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Webtech (NI) produces a range of flexible packaging products, the principal ones being stretch sleeves, printed film on reel, and printed polythene bags.

Webtech International is closely linked to Webtech (NI) and also involved in the flexible packaging sector. Its main product categories are polypropylene and PVC shrink sleeves, and polythene film.

The three companies sell their products in the Republic, Northern Irish and British markets.

An ACT director, Mr Aidan Byrnes, will join the board of Americk.

Mr Doran said Americk wished to develop its business and provide a range of packaging solutions to their customers.

"We are establishing two new production operations to broaden, our range of products and the ACT investment will provide us with the financial base".

ACT Venture Capital was formed in 1994 by a group of former AIB employees with experience in venture capital.