M&Q Packaging Corp., a Pennsylvania-based maker of high-temperature thermoplastic packaging, has been sold to a private equity firm, Capital Partners Inc.
M&Q, of Schuylkill Haven, Pa., makes high-temperature nylon and polyester and dates back to 1956.
The company, according to President Mike Schmal, extrudes film and makes bags.
“We're particularly strong in food service as well as meat packaging and industrial,” he said. “Some of the industrial applications include vacuum bagging of composite materials.”
M&Q, owned by a consortium of more than two dozen private shareholders, decided about two years ago to “pursue a liquidity event,” the president said.
“There was over 30-some shareholders. The founding families were the Menges and the Quinns,” he said.
That explains the M&Q name.
“They wanted to be deliberate about it. They didn't want to make any mistakes or give anything away, so it was a very deliberate process,” said Schmal, who has been company president since 2008.
None of the shareholders were actively involved in the business at the time of the sale.
The first part of the process involved hiring The DAK Group of Rochelle Park, N.J., to advise the owners on the sale. DAK then spent months getting to know the business.
“The actual sale process probably took a year,” Schmal said.
Capital Partners became the successful bidder for a couple of reasons, the president explained.
“They are looking to use M&Q as a platform company. So our intent over the near future is to look for other companies to add on to M&Q in order to add value to the current shareholders. In addition, I think their network and their expertise in the boardroom also add value to the company,” Schmal said.
“They know how to grow businesses. They do that for a living,” he said about Capital Partners.
The investment firm uses a low leverage approach to ownership that allows its companies to pursue acquisitions and make capital improvements, according to its website.
M&Q currently has about 120 to 125 employees and is looking for more thanks to a strong market for its products these days.
“We're experiencing considerable growth right now, internal growth. And to meet that growth, we need to hire,” Schmal said.
Along with manufacturing in Schuylkill Haven, the company also has a sales and administrative office in Limerick, Pa.
“This acquisition is a tremendous opportunity for M&Q's growth vision to be realized,” DAK President Alan Scharfstein said in a statement.
Sale of the company closed Dec. 31, but DAK only announced the news Feb. 24.
M&Q was founded in 1956 by William Menges and Francis Quinn, who both formerly worked at Allied Chemical Corp.
