AE Global acquires TPK Ceramics and its distribution arm

AE Global said August 24, 2026, that it has acquired TPK Ceramics and TPK Distribution, bringing TPK founders Trey Kavooras and Nigel Dandridge into leadership roles across AE Global’s vape division. The deal expands AE Global’s vape offering while keeping TPK as a standalone brand and preserving its factory, products and customer relationships.

Why it matters: - The acquisition gives AE Global a deeper position in vape hardware, a category it had served mainly as a distributor. - TPK customers gain access to AE Global’s packaging, project management and logistics capabilities. - AE Global customers gain a dedicated vape hardware line led by the team that specialized in ceramic hardware.

What happened: - AE Global announced on August 24, 2026, that it acquired TPK Ceramics and its distribution affiliate, TPK Distribution. - TPK co-founders Trey Kavooras and Nigel Dandridge are joining AE Global to lead across the company’s vape division. - AE Global will offer TPK products in its vape catalog. - Existing distribution partners will remain authorized partners of the TPK brand.

The details: - TPK Ceramics makes fully ceramic zirconia vape hardware. - The company said TPK pioneered the fully ceramic cartridge in 2017 and the zirconia cartridge in 2019. - TPK has focused on quality control, scale production and custom hardware development for cannabis brands. - TPK Ceramics will continue as a standalone brand under the AE Global umbrella. - TPK’s products, factory, quality protocols and customer relationships will remain unchanged. - Mike Forenza, co-founder of AE Global, said TPK fit AE Global’s operating model and offered a point of difference in the category. - Forenza said AE Global is adding resources behind TPK and bringing in the people who built the business. - Forenza said Kavooras and Dandridge will provide leadership across AE Global’s broader vape offering, not only TPK products. - Trey Kavooras said the product, factory, team and standards will stay the same. - Kavooras said the acquisition should add support, capacity and a broader range of hardware for customers that need alternatives beyond ceramic. - AE Global has worked in vape for years as a distributor before making this acquisition. - AE Global operates three manufacturing facilities in the United States and distributes packaging solutions nationwide. - AE Global describes itself as a hybrid manufacturer and distributor with an innovation lab, distribution footprint and vertically integrated manufacturing facilities. - AE Global says it also runs the Talk Trash program, which funds waste collection in areas lacking adequate waste management infrastructure. - As of July 31, 2025, AE Global said its partnership with rePurpose Global helped remove more than 439,000 pounds of ocean-bound plastic, equal to more than 9.6 million 16-ounce water bottles. - TPK Ceramics was founded in 2019. - TPK’s zirconia cartridges, all-in-one devices and batteries are used by cannabis brands across North America.

Between the lines: - AE Global is signaling that it wants more control over a product category it already knew through distribution. - Keeping TPK as a standalone brand suggests AE Global wants to preserve the trust and technical identity TPK built with customers. - Bringing in the founders indicates AE Global is buying both manufacturing capability and category expertise.

What's next: - AE Global will fold TPK products into its vape catalog while keeping the TPK brand in place. - TPK will continue serving customers through its existing factory and authorized distribution partners. - Kavooras and Dandridge are expected to help steer AE Global’s expanded vape strategy.

The bottom line: - AE Global is using the TPK deal to move from vape distribution into a more integrated hardware platform without disrupting the brand that customers already know.