OpenGate sells Energi Fenestration; De Zen buys back part of Royal Group

Vic De Zen is reuniting with part of the Royal Group building products business that he founded in 1970.

Los Angeles-based private equity firm OpenGate Capital announced May 19 that it sold Energi Fenestration Solutions Ltd. to three companies, which acquired various portions of the business. Terms were not disclosed.

The buyers are:

• Woodbridge, Ontario-based Vision Extrusions Ltd., which bought most of the rigid and cellular vinyl profile extruder. That deal reunites De Zen with part of his old Royal Plastics Group business.

• A new company, Thermoplast Extrusions, acquired Energi's Laval, Quebec, extrusion plant. The new owners were executives at Energi.

• Finally, Sainte-Julie, Quebec-based Novatech Group Inc. acquired Energi's Terrebonne, Quebec, factory, which makes patio doors. The deal gives Novatech a total of six factories for that product family.

In a May 18 letter to employees, De Zen said the fenestration acquisition will create a highly competitive global company for years to come.

Vision Extrusions manufactures PVC and fiberglass columns, vinyl fences, PVC and aluminum railing, patio doors, steel doors, basement windows and custom profiles.

"Together we will protect and build our customer relationships by consistently delivering the outstanding service and quality products expected from us," De Zen said.

With estimated annual profile sales of $185 million and overall corporate sales of $450 million, Vision Extrusions holds the No. 27 spot among North American pipe, profile and tubing extruders, according to Plastics News' latest ranking.

Energi ranks 38th with estimated profile sales of $115 million from five manufacturing plants, according to the rankings.

De Zen has past ties to Royal Building Products. In 1970, he founded Royal Plastics Group, which went public through an initial public offering in 1994, although De Zen held nearly all of the company's voting shares.

The company, then known as Royal Group Technologies Ltd., won the 1999 Plastics News Processor of the Year award.

But after a period of slumping financial results and government investigations, De Zen was ousted in 2004 and the company was sold in 2006 to Georgia Gulf Corp. for about $1.6 billion.

Georgia Gulf became Axiall Corp. in 2013. In 2016, Atlanta-based Axiall sold the PVC window and door profiles operations to OpenGate Capital.

Now De Zen controls Vision Group of Cos., which, in addition to the extrusion business, also offers industrial and commercial land development and construction and property management. It reaches into the transportation and hospitality industries.

De Zen said the integration of Energi and Vision will maximize manufacturing, purchasing and human resources when it is completed in the coming months.

"This acquisition will be a positive venture for our employees as well as our customers and suppliers," the CEO concluded in his letter.

However, in a FAQ section that follows De Zen's comments, employees learn some positions will be eliminated: "We expect that many of our employees will benefit from the available increased opportunities as part of a larger company. Of course, as in any transaction of this type, there will be some overlap in corporate and geographic functions, and as such the elimination of certain jobs. We expect clarity on job status questions within the next 90 days."

Thermoplast Extrusions officials released few details about buying the Energi extrusion unit, but did address jobs. Their announcement simply says Michael McCullough, Jean Marois and Martin Boulanger have acquired the Laval plant, the business is now called Thermoplast, and "the entire team remains in place."

McCullough is vice president of operations, Marois is vice president of sales and engineering and Boulanger is vice president of finance and marketing.

The Laval plant serves Quebec and the Maritime provinces of Canada. It was founded in 1966 and acquired by Royal Building Products in 2006. The plant employs more than 175.

In a release, McCullough said: "In all departments, we have always worked very hard to have the uniqueness of the Quebec and Maritimes market recognized, so we are convinced that a local control and management are the best option for the future of this plant."

Novatech officials said demand for patio doors continues to increase and they are anxious to add to the company's operational capabilities with the Energi facility in Terrebonne. The facility gives the acquirer the footprint to meet growth objectives and service levels.

"We plan to make significant investments at the Terrebonne facility in the coming months," a Novatech statement also says.

Effective immediately, the current Novatech sales force is responsible for patio door sales out of Terrebonne and the customer service team that has been there will remain in place for inquiries and orders.

In his welcome of the Energi's patio doors team, Novatech Group President and CEO Harold Savard said: "Their expertise, combined with that of our current teams, will complement our plants in Ste-Julie, Beauceville, Calgary and Martinsville. Synergies generated by the pooling of our activities will ensure the success of this acquisition, which is in line with our passion to always better serve our customers."

Founded in 1982, Novatech also manufactures steel entry doors and residential and commercial glass products. The company has 16 facilities in the U.S., Canada and France.

The sale of the three Energi units comes on the heels of OpenGate selling its French building products distribution business, Bois & Materiaux, earlier this month and Power Partners Inc. in November 2019.

Established in 2005, OpenGate has completed more than 30 acquisitions, including corporate carve-outs, management buyouts and special situations.