MGS Mfg. Group Inc., a Germantown, Wis.-based custom injection molder, tooling and equipment supplier, has been sold to Mason Wells, a Milwaukee-based private equity firm.
Mason Wells is buying the company from Mark G. Sellers, who founded MGS in 1982. The company has plants in Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, Mexico and Ireland.
MGS has been in expansion mode, most recently adding a 15,000-square-foot ISO Class 8 clean room in a Germantown, and a 100,000-square-foot distribution center. The company's big push in health care molding came in 2014, when MGS acquired a Buffalo, N.Y., plant from a customer, Hospira Inc.
Under the Mason Wells umbrella, more acquisitions could be on the horizon.
“We are often evaluating opportunities to expand in order to meet the needs of our global customers,” said MGS President Paul Manley, in a news release. “Having a partner with the knowledge and financial resources of Mason Wells gives us a great platform for growth. We look forward to expanding the business and working together for many years to come.”
For the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, MGS reported sales of about $210 million. Molding was 75 percent of the volume, tooling 17 percent and equipment 8 percent.
By end market, health care accounted for about 45 percent of the sales. Electronics was 22 percent, automotive 18 percent, consumer 8 percent and industrial 7 percent.
Mason Wells has a history of investing in plastics and other manufacturing companies. Its current portfolio includes Nelipak Healthcare Packaging, a Cranston, R.I.-based custom thermformer that specializes in packaging for medical devices and pharmaceuticals. But MGS emphasized that it “will not be combined or affiliated with any other Mason Wells portfolio company.”
MGS CEO Jeff Kolbow said the acquisition “will provide long-term growth opportunities for our company, our employees and our customers. In Mason Wells, we have a strong partner providing the support to expand our capabilities and footprint meeting needs of our global customer base.”
Greg Myers, senior managing director of Mason Wells added: “We are impressed with the strong portfolio of business that MGS has developed and feel that Mason Wells will provide the necessary funding and direction to accelerate growth and supply a greater range of service locations for MGS clients.”
Mason Wells has about $1 billion in assets under management. Since it formed in 1998, its buyout funds have invested in four industry sectors: outsourced business services, consumer packaged goods, engineered products & services, and packaging materials & converting.