Automotive injection molder and toolmaker A.P. Plasman Inc. has purchased Thermotech Inc., a move that brings Plasman plants in Mexico and expertise in molding small precision electronic, fuel system and brake parts.
Stout Risius Ross Advisors LLC first announced the deal on May 19. SRR represented Thermotech in the acquisition. Officials from Plasman, which is owned by Insight Equity Holdings LLC, and Thermotech could not be reached for comment for this story, but they issued statements in announcing the deal.
Plasman, which is based in Windsor, Ontario, along with its Build-A-Mold business, molds interior and exterior auto parts. The company does painting and assembly, at plants in Windsor and Fort Payne, Ala.
The deal includes Thermotech's headquarters and facility in Hopkins, Minn., and three molding plants in Mexican cities of Juárez, Querétaro and Monterrey. The Plastics News injection molders' ranking estimates the company sales at $73 million.
For automotive, Thermotech makes electronic parts such as sensors, brush holders, motor gear boxes, connectors and bobbins/coil forms. Fuel system parts include canisters, throttle bodies, components for vapor management, pump connectors and injector bobbins. For braking systems, Thermotech produces anti-lock brake modules, speed sensors and pistons.
Thermotech also molds parts for the medical, electronics, small engine, appliance and filtration industries.
Insight Equity, a private equity firm in Southlake, Texas, said Plasman had bought Cleveland-based A-Brite Plating Co. in December, followed by purchasing the assets of Thermotech in April.
In a May 21 announcement of the Thermotech deal, Insight Equity partner Eliot Kerlin said the acquisitions mean Plasman “will be able to offer its OEM customers turnkey solutions for large exterior plastic components, whether painted, chrome-plated, or both.”
Plasman's chief executive officer, David Wiskel, said the three businesses will work together. Plasman previously had to use outside vendors for chrome plating, and Thermotech had relied on mold suppliers. Now Plasman will build the molds in-house for Thermotech, he said in the statement from Insight Equity.
The seller is Pioneer Plastics Inc., which acquired Thermotech in 2007.
A statement from Thermotech's former chairman and CEO Minou Hussain said: “Since I acquired Thermotech in 2007, a significant amount of work and investment has been put into the business, resulting in growth and improved profitability.” Hussain said the company is positioned to continue growing under Plasman ownership.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.