Nekoosa Coated Products LLC, a specialty film and paper products maker, has changed hands yet again, becoming part of Appvion Inc., a portfolio company of Wynnchurch Capital LP.
New York private equity firm Sentinel Capital Partners announced Nov. 3 it had sold Nekoosa for undisclosed terms. The sale comes five years after Sentinel bought Nekoosa from Wingate Partners LP of Dallas. Wingate had purchased Nekoosa in 2012 from Dunsirn Partners LLC of Menasha, Wis.
Paul Charapata, Nekoosa's CEO, said Nekoosa thrived under Sentinel even during challenging times.
"We successfully navigated the pandemic, integrated accretive add-ons, expanded the product portfolio, and positioned the brand for continued growth," Charapata said in a news release.
Nekoosa extrudes film products for credit cards, lighting applications and wall panels, and application and pressure-sensitive tapes used to protect graphics and transfer them onto surfaces such as commercial vehicles and store windows. The company, based in Nekoosa, Wis., also makes synthetic paper used as an alternative to lamination, and produces sheeted digital and offset-grade carbonless paper.
Sentinel said Nekoosa has a network of more than 1,000 global distributor partners, and serves more than 70,000 commercial print and graphics shops in 65 countries. Nekoosa employs about 300.
Appvion, based in Appleton, Wis., provides specialty coating products used in labels, tags, tickets and packages. It employs almost 400 workers.
Private investment firm Wynnchurch acquired Appvion in 2021. Rosemont Ill.-based Wynnchurch focuses on middle-market U.S. and Canadian companies and manages $5.3 billion worth of regulatory assets.