Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CFO of the Year
    • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Bioplastics Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • PFAS Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
    • Europe - Virgin
    • Europe - Recycled
    • Europe - Feedstock
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
News
January 25, 1999 01:00 AM

BECKER PLANS RETURN TO PLASTICS MOLDING

Joseph Pryweller PLASTICS NEWS STAFF
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More

    The former chief executive officer of Becker Group Inc. plans a return to the plastics business by buying back part of his former company.

    Charles Becker is wrapping up negotiations with Johnson Controls Inc.'s automotive systems group in Plymouth, Mich., to repurchase at least five plants and two tooling shops, according to sources close to the situation and several competitors.

    Becker Group of Sterling Heights, Mich., sold the plants to JCI in May. At the time, the speed and breadth of the deal stunned many industry observers.

    JCI had paid about $548 million for Becker's 51 plants in North America and Europe and assumed another $372 million of debt, according to JCI's annual report, published Dec. 15. Becker Group recorded 1997 sales worldwide of about $1.3 billion.

    Charles Becker and other former company officials want to buy several of those plants and the company's former tooling shops, Perfect Mold Co. and J.B. Rath Co., both based in Sterling Heights.

    Sources say the plants Becker wants include injection molding facilities making automotive trim and smaller interior parts. The company's North American facilities produced such parts as door panels, center consoles, headliners and instrument panels.

    JCI is likely to keep the plants that make instrument panel parts, an area where the company needs capacity, according to sources.

    The sale may be completed within the next two to eight weeks, said sources familiar with the negotiations. Several competitors speculated that Becker would then become a parts supplier to JCI.

    Becker recently opened an office, called Becker Ventures Inc., in Troy, Mich. Charles Becker did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

    As a policy, JCI officials do not comment on speculation involving potential sales or acquisitions, said JCI spokesman Dave Roznowski.

    But according to JCI's annual report, the company has identified several operations within the Becker Group that are outside JCI's core businesses. JCI plans to sell those operations in 1999, the filing stated.

    In North America, Becker Group operated 14 plants with 177 injection presses. Sales in the region were about $390 million.

    JCI also plans to pare down other parts of the Becker operation. The annual report stated that JCI would consolidate the Becker facilities and lay off about 1,250 workers worldwide. At the time of the sale, Becker Group had 8,400 employees.

    JCI recorded a restructuring reserve of $48 million when it purchased Becker Group. Those charges were targeted for anticipated costs to consolidate Becker's plants. JCI officials did not comment on specific restructuring plans.

    In December, JCI sold what had been considered another key to the deal, plastics prototyping house Megatech Engineering Inc. of Warren, Mich. MSX International Inc. of Auburn Hills, Mich., bought the former Becker plant.

    Becker's father, Leonard, started Becker Group in 1954 when he opened Perfect Mold. Charles and his brother, Bruce, built up the company to world-class status, competing with better-funded megasuppliers such as Lear Corp. and Johnson Controls.

    But a debt load of more than $300 million might have been the crushing blow for the family business, said Dennis Virag of Automotive Consulting Group Inc. in Ann Arbor, Mich.

    ``The banker was knocking,'' he said. ``It makes sense that he would want the business back now. He's an entrepreneur at heart.''

    The transaction, if successful, would be a rare reversal of field for an automotive supplier who has exited the business. Even those who return seldom buy back their former plants.

    But the industry should expect similar deals in an era of consolidation and critical mass, said Craig Fitzgerald, partner with investment house Plante & Moran LLP in Southfield, Mich.

    More and more, companies that make major purchases find that some operations do not fit their long-term strategy and would act as a drain on finances, Fitzgerald said. Who better to sell to than the executives most familiar with those operations, he said.

    ``Invariably, some operations are more valuable to the company that sold it than to the buying company,'' Fitzgerald said. ``Those buyers might have to pay a premium of 20-60 percent over the price they sold the [operations] for. But it can still be a good deal for both parties.''

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    People in plastics: Week of Nov. 27, 2023
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Geon takes ‘key step forward' with PolymaxTPE acquisition
    2
    Orion expects to open fourth compounding line in 2024
    3
    People in plastics: Week of Nov. 27, 2023
    4
    Sussex IM sells Mr. Lid brand, will continue molding
    5
    Former ACC economist explains business cycles in new book
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Find more newsletters at plasticsnews.com/newsletters.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CFO of the Year
        • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
      • Podcasts
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Bioplastics Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • PFAS Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
      • Europe - Virgin
      • Europe - Recycled
      • Europe - Feedstock
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified