Thermoform packaging maker Lacerta Group LLC has a new leader, one with an extensive background in the plastics industry.
The Mansfield, Mass.-based company appointed Paul Young as CEO effective immediately, the company said.
Young previously was CEO at Tekni-Plex Inc., a maker of a wide variety of products in the consumer and health care packaging sector. He also has worked for Graham Packaging Co., Owens-Illinois and Continental PET Technologies, Lacerta said.
"Paul Young is a proven executive with a track record of driving transformation and growth in the packaging sector. His understanding of the industry, decades of relevant experience, and commitment to sustainability and innovation align perfectly with Lacerta's core values and mission," said Jack Norris, managing director of company owner SK Capital and chairman of Lacerta, in a statement.
SK Capital purchased a majority stake in Lacerta in 2021, with the founding Lotfi family retaining what was described at the time as a significant stake in the business.
"Lacerta represents a unique opportunity to build upon the foundation created by the Lotfi family and to establish the company as a clear market leader in sustainable and innovative packaging solutions," Young said in a statement. "I am excited by the trust placed in me by SK Capital and the board of directors and look forward to working with Lacerta's senior leadership team to drive the agenda for strategic growth and realize the full potential of the company."
In early January, Lacerta purchased the assets of the former Portage Plastics thermoforming plant in Portage, Wis. The site had previously been slated to close after falling under court-ordered receivership in 2022 before Lacerta stepped up to buy the facility.
That move represented the company's first site in the Midwest, joining four locations in Mansfield and one in Chatsworth, Calif.
"The company has highly leverageable competitive advantages in attractive growth markets and tremendous upside potential to further assert its leadership position in innovative and sustainable packaging solutions. In [Young], we are confident we have selected the right leader for the next chapter in the company's impressive history," Dante Parrini, senior director of SK Capital and a board member of Lacerta, said in a statement.
Lacerta ranks No. 23 in the latest Plastics News listing of largest thermoformers in North America with estimated sales of $150 million annually.