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
    • 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
April 10, 2019 02:00 AM

Concern about job losses leads former employees to buy molder Jabat

Catherine Kavanaugh
Senior Reporter
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Mac Plastics Manufacturing Inc.
    Jabat Inc. has been purchased by former employees and partners to become Mac Plastics Manufacturing Inc.

    Jabat Inc. has been acquired by Mac Plastics Manufacturing Inc., a business recently formed by two Jabat employees and partners to keep the custom extruding and injection molding operation — and 37 jobs — in Olney, Ill.

    The partners dug deep to buy the family-owned Jabat for an undisclosed sum as another prospective buyer talked about relocating production to Ohio. The plant has been in Olney for 29 years, Mac Plastics President and CEO Rod Michels told Plastics News.

    Michels was a Jabat employee who rose from production manager, to general manager then vice president. He said the other buyer was only interested in the customer list and equipment. There was no talk about relocating employees.

    Many sleepless nights followed as the new ownership group looked for ways to keep the Olney work crews and facility going, Michels added.

    "I worked with my local resources and a couple of my coworkers to come up with a plan to purchase it," he said. "I have worked for Jabat for 25 years. I know what our company has done and what its capabilities are. We have succeeded for a long time for a reason and we knew that we could help take the company to another level."

    The company, now called Mac Plastics, makes components for a variety of markets, including agriculture, building and construction, chemical, fencing, lawn and garden, sanitation, utilities and vacuum tubing. The business is primarily an extrusion house but does some injection molding.

    Mac Plastics retained all 37 employees and is picking up where Jabat left off, Michels said.

    "We have always operated as a team and I truly believe that we have a great one," he said. "This was a huge part of the motivation in buying the company. Keeping the jobs in our community meant everything to me."

    The Mac Plastics partners closed the deal on April 1 with some financial support from Michels' wife, Susan, and her parents, George and Jackie Snider.

    "We cashed out our retirement accounts and had help from my in-laws with collateral farm ground in order to put this deal together," Michels said.

    His partners are Aaron Ackman, who worked 16 years at Jabat; Brian Craig, a veteran of the plastics industry; and John Murray, a friend. Ackman is vice president of sales and procurement and Craig is vice president of operations at Mac.

    The Mac partners bought Jabat from the founders' family. Theresa Kulkaski and her late husband Stanley passed the business to their children about three years ago. Their daughter, Susan McGill, was majority owner and she remains president and CEO of a related business, K. Jabat Inc. in New Jersey, which serves the same end markets.

    "Mac Plastics and K Jabat will continue to work together, just as separate entities," Michels said.

    The acquisition included the Olney facility and its 13 extrusion lines — five of which have coextrusion capabilities — as well as 110-ton and 220-ton injection molding machines.

    Recent investments at the plant include a 65mm Milacron twin-screw extruder, two fly knife cutters, two pullers, an automatic shrink wrapping units, and a desiccant dryer.

    The new owners plan to buy a shredder and a new cooling tower. Mac Plastic officials also expect to add business and hire more employees.

    "We are currently pursuing some new opportunities and look forward to what the future has to offer," Michels said. "We could increase our employee head count by as many as 10 to 12 over the next year."

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Superior Die Set seeks sale of Wisconsin plant, may be forced to close
    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
    An 8,000-ton dream for Milacron, 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics
    2
    Proposed tax on single-use virgin plastic resurfaces in Congress
    3
    Braskem stops production on a PP line at Pennsylvania plant
    4
    Some resin prices take a hike at the end of summer
    5
    Material Insights: High oil prices, strong dollar impact plastics
    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
        • 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