FlexXray, an Arlington-based provider of third-party foreign material inspection for food and consumer products, is finalizing the acquisition of a France-based food inspection company, marking FlexXray’s expansion internationally.

The strategic acquisition will mark FlexXray’s first European operation and represent “a significant milestone” in its global growth strategy—which also includes plans to expand into the Canadian market, the company said.

“Our expansion into international markets marks an important step in FlexXray’s growth and evolution,” CEO Ken Forster said in a statement. “Our proven inspection process and technology has helped thousands of food and consumer product manufacturers in North America and we’re excited to help more producers salvage safe product potentially impacted by foreign material contamination.”

FlexXray inspects finished food and beverage products for all types of contaminants. The company says it can detect most foreign material down to 0.8 mm or smaller and test for metal, bone, rubber, plastic, gasket material, stones, glass, wood, and other foreign material.

Founded in Arlington in 2001, FlexXray has a presence in six locations across the U.S. and inspects millions of pounds of product each year. In 2021, the company was sold by Los Angeles-based Levine Leichtman Capital Partners to Warburg Pincus and Tilia Holdings for an undisclosed amount.

French operations and leadership

FlexXray said that its new French facility is strategically positioned, offering optimal transportation accessibility for manufacturers throughout Europe, including major markets in Germany, Italy, Spain, and Northern Europe.

The company’s market research identified the opportunity as European producers face foreign material challenges at similar frequencies to their North American counterparts while having limited access to industry-leading inspection and remediation solutions.

FlexXray has appointed Selma Lazreq to lead the European expansion as country manager for France.

Lazreq has held numerous positions across the European food industry, most recently as country manager at yfood Labs in France. Lazreq will oversee FlexXray’s French operations and spearhead market entry and growth strategies, the company said.

Canadian expansion and company growth

At the same time, FlexXray said it is actively pursuing growth opportunities in Canada, with site selection underway in the Toronto region. The planned Canadian facility will enable the company to better serve Canadian food producers “with enhanced proximity and faster turnaround times,” FlexXray said.

The company is currently recruiting for key leadership positions in Canada, including a country manager and commercial team managers to support the market launch.

Both the French and Canadian facilities will be equipped with FlexXray’s advanced X-ray inspection technologies alongside the company’s new CT (computed tomography) capabilities. The advanced technologies enable FlexXray to detect contaminants at significantly smaller sizes than typical in-line systems, the company said, and help find foreign materials such as dense rubber and plastic more effectively than most traditional X-ray systems.

With six U.S. inspection facilities and a 24-year track record of “accurate, reliable inspections” for thousands of food manufacturers, FlexXray said it is well-positioned to support enterprise food manufacturers worldwide.

“Our expansion internationally not only allows us to serve manufacturers based in these new regions, but also enables us to support the global operations of our existing U.S.-based enterprise manufacturers who have production facilities across Europe and Canada,” Chief Commercial Officer Kurt Westmoreland said in a statement.

Don’t miss what’s next. Subscribe to Dallas Innovates.

Track Dallas-Fort Worth’s business and innovation landscape with our curated news in your inbox Tuesday-Thursday.