For the first time since it was started in 1950, Plaskolite Inc. is taking on board an equity investor to help fuel future growth.
Charlesbank Capital Partners, which has offices in Boston and New York, is joining with key managers and the founding Dunn family to recapitalize the Columbus, Ohio-based acrylic sheet maker.
“We're all excited about it and think it will be a good relationship. The family is still invested, the management team is invested, and Charlesbank will have controlling interest,” said Mitch Grindley, who is Plaskolite's new president.
Grindley, who has been with the company for 34 years, said the new management team also includes Chief Financial Officer Rich Larkin; Chief Technical Officer David Chan and Chief Operating Officer Mark Grindley.
Jim Dunn, who had been president, will serve on the new board of directors as chairman emeritus.
“In order to meet the rising demands of the market, we are confident that this transaction positions Plaskolite for the future,” Dunn said, in a statement.
Grindley said that the company will run much the same as it has, but increased equity will “help fund future acquisitions and growth.”
Plaskolite, which bills itself as the largest privately owned U.S. manufacturer of continuously processed acrylic sheet products, operates facilities in Columbus and Zanesville, Ohio; Grand Saline, Texas; Compton, Calif.; Olive Branch, Miss.; and Monterrey, Mexico.
The company also has a joint venture in Malatya, Turkey, which Grindley said will have the ability to supply material by the beginning of 2016.
Plaskolite also acquired the mirror sheet product line from Specchidea srl of Torino, Italy, in August 2014.
Plaskolite ranked No. 24 in Plastics News' recent survey of North American film and sheet manufacturers, with relevant sales of $341 million.
