Financial firm MPE Partners has acquired a stake in plastic case maker SKB Corp. for an undisclosed price.
Orange, Calif.-based SKB makes specialty protective cases for more than 2,000 customers in the military and industrial, music and audio visual profession, and sports end markets. Manufacturing offered by SKB includes injection molding, rotational molding, vacuum molding and foam customization. In addition to Orange, SKB operates a plant in Mexicali, Mexico.
In total, SKB employs 330 and operates 15 injection molding machines. Officials declined to disclose financial data for the firm or to disclose the size of MPE’s investment.
Steve Kottman and Dave Sanderson founded SKB in 1977. The two had met in college while on the rowing team at California State University, Long Beach. Prior to forming SKB, Kottman and Sanderson built guitar cases for friends using homemade vacuum mold equipment.
Sanderson, President Daniel Jewell and John Saxon, CEO and executive chairman, have partnered with MPE in the investment. Saxon joined SKB earlier this month. He has extensive manufacturing experience, most recently as CEO of automotive parts supplier dlhBowles Inc. of Canton, Ohio, from 2004-22. Saxon also was a speaker at the 2023 Plastics News Executive Forum in Clearwater Beach, Fla.
On a video call, he said joining SKB “brings my plastics experience full circle.” Also on the call, MPE Principal Nick Stender said SKB is “a great fit from an industry perspective” for his firm.
MPE partner Matt Yohe added in the release that SKB “has developed a reputation for high-quality products, customization and fast lead times.”
MPE’s current portfolio includes plastics processor Teel Plastics LLC of Baraboo, Wis. Previously, MPE owned injection molder Plastic Components Inc. of Germantown, Wis., before selling that business to Rosti Group in 2022. Officials said MPE “seeks to be the preferred partner” for entrepreneur- and family-owned companies.
MPE invests in profitable, lower middle market companies with EBITDA between $8 million and $40 million. The firm's two primary target investment areas are high-value manufacturing and commercial & industrial services.
In a joint statement, Kottman and Sanderson said when they founded the firm, “we set out to create the best protective cases for musicians and entertainers.”
“Over the past four decades, we have continued to develop innovative products and have expanded into other end markets,” they added. “We believe that SKB is well positioned for the next stage of growth with the investment from MPE.”
In 2022, SKB installed a 2,100-ton Haitian injection molding press that it termed the largest on the U.S. West Coast. The machine increased size capabilities and production capacity and allowed SKB to remain the only case maker to offer more than 65 standalone injection molded case sizes.