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
May 30, 2019 07:37 PM

Private equity's Crestview buys Concours Mold with aim to acquire more toolmakers

Bill Bregar
Senior Staff Reporter
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Concours Mold Inc.
    Mark Goggin started Concours Mold Inc. in 1994. The mold maker now has sites in Ontario, Alabama and Mexico and has been acquired by private equity firm Crestview.

    Crestview Partners LP has jumped into the mold and tooling sector — a place where few private equity companies have gone — to purchase Concours Mold Inc., a big Canadian automotive mold maker with a multinational footprint.

    And the New York-based Crestview wants to buy more mold makers.

    "Certainly, we're looking to deploy meaningful capital in this industry," said Alex Rose, a partner in Crestview who co-heads the firm's industrial investments area.

    The acquisition of Concours Mold, completed May 30 for undisclosed terms, is the first step in a strategy to invest $200 million to acquire and integrate tooling and mold companies to build a global business with differentiated software simulation, machine learning and 3D printing capabilities, Crestview officials said.

    "There is a compelling opportunity to create a global technology leader in the highly fragmented tooling and mold industry," Rose said. "Identifying niche industries which have not yet seen the emergence of a global leader is a core focus of Crestview's industrials investment strategy."

    Concours is based in Lakeshore, Ontario, near Windsor — a center of automotive mold making. Concours is the fifth-largest mold and tooling maker in North America, according to Plastics News data, with $95 million in sales and 375 employees.

    The mold maker has plants in Lakeshore; Cullman, Ala., and Huejotzingo, Mexico.

    Toolmaker Mark Goggin founded Concours Mold in 1994. His sons, Dennis and Kenny Goggins, will remain with the company in their current roles, Dennis as vice president of manufacturing engineering and Kenny as deputy chief financial officer.

    Andy Aiton will continue as president of Concours Mold.

    Jason Luo, former chairman and CEO of Ford Motor Co.'s operations in China, will serve as chairman of Concours. He will work closely with newly recruited CEO Tony Nardone. Both men previously worked together at Key Safety Systems Inc., a maker of air bags, seat belts and safety systems — Luo as CEO and Nardone as president of the Americas.

    Crestview and the Key Safety Systems management team bought Key in 2007 and sold it in 2016.

    Luo also is a senior adviser at Crestview. "Concours is the first of many companies we hope to bring together to create a market leader with operations throughout North America, Europe and Asia," he said.

    Crestview Partners manages funds with about $9 billion of aggregate capital commitments. The firm focuses on middle-market companies.

     

    Concours Mold Inc.
    Concours Mold's new owner plans to make it the base of a larger tooling firm covering more end markets.
    Consolidation in tooling won't be easy

    Mold consultant Laurie Harbour said not a lot of mold shops are owned by private equity. One that is: Tooling Tech Group, based in Macomb, Mich. — which made its own announcement May 30 that it has purchased Alpha Integration, a supplier of custom automation and inspection equipment. 

    Tooling Tech is No. 2 on the Plastics News mold maker ranking, with $185 million in sales.

    Harbour said Concours Mold is good core platform mold maker for Crestview. But she said it's been difficult for private equity to make inroads in the tooling sector — as opposed to mass production industries like injection molding, where rollups from mergers and acquisition are common in automotive, packaging and other markets.

    "I do think there's opportunities for the industry to consolidate more, it's just not as easy as plastics molding," she said.

    She said her consulting company, Harbour Results Inc., has identified about 20 mold shops with sales over $50 million. Concours Mold's global operations in Canada, the United States and Mexico, is an attractive feature. Most tool shops don't have multiple facilities, Harbour said.

    "It's definitely a highly fragmented industry, there's no doubt about that. And there's a handful of large companies like Concours," said Harbour, president and CEO of her Southfield, Mich.-based firm.

    "Many people, for years, have believed that it's a great industry for that rollup concept like we've seen in plastics. But it's not as easy an answer as it is for a production company. There are many fewer tool suppliers than there are for molding," Harbour said.

    She said the majority of mold shops have sales of less than $15 million. Many are much smaller. And owners of smaller companies often have a long family heritage in mold making, going back to fathers and grandfathers. They have weathered economic storms like competition from China and current challenges like steel and aluminum tariffs. A mold shop may have 25 or 30 highly skilled machinists, Harbour said. Metalworking is craft oriented.

    "The answer for them is a little more challenging. A lot of these small business owners don't want to sell," she said. "So it makes it a little more difficult of a business model, to take these companies and do a rollup."

    Harbour said there are plenty of well-run $10 million to $20 million tool shops that could be good acquisition candidates.

    Crestview's Alex Rose said the firm will look at mold makers of all sizes, including mid-sized companies that offer new end markets, new customers and new geographical locations. Small mold makers could offer a strategic geographic reach, he said.

    "We would do more than just try to acquire the top two or three players," he said.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Tennessee-based insulation maker adding equipment, jobs
    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
    US Merchants opens curtain on growing injection molding operations
    3
    Report: Tekni-Plex may be for sale
    4
    Rising costs prompt delay in Corpus Christi PET plant construction
    5
    Plastics processors face automation needs, sustainability demands
    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