Pleatco Filtration, a maker of filter cartridges used in the pool and spa filtration industry, has expanded into the industrial air filtration market with the acquisitions of APEL International and Milton Manufacturing. Align Capital Partners acquired Pleatco in July 2018.
APEL designs and manufactures custom and standard replacement cartridge filters, pleated bags and fabric filters for industrial air applications including dust collection, dry process filtration and pollution control systems. The company was founded in 1996 by Paul and Susan LaCroix and has a 100,000 square foot manufacturing facility and headquarters in Louisville, KY (www.apelfilters.com).
“APEL’s library of more than 5,000 custom and stock filters provide its distribution and OEM customers with the broadest range of aftermarket filtration products in the industry,” said Mr. LaCroix. “I’m excited to continue our legacy as a high-quality manufacturer with industry-best lead times under the Pleatco Filtration brand and platform.”
Milton Manufacturing, the second add-on acquisition by Pleatco, is a maker of spun bond, paper, felt and pleated bag filters. The company is led by CEO Dave Brunner and is headquartered in Milton, ON (www.mpffilters.com).
With the closings of the APEL and Milton acquisitions, Align has named Rick Von Drehle as Pleatco’s new CEO. In addition, Pleatco will build out its headquarters and senior management team at APEL’s facility in Louisville.
Pleatco designs and manufactures more than 700 SKUs of pleated filter cartridges, DE grids (diatomaceous earth – a type of filtration material) and filter wash products for the pool and spa markets. Pleatco’s aftermarket filtration products are sold to and through pool and spa retailers, distributors, online retailers, and original equipment manufacturers that are located throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Pleatco was founded in 1972 and is based on Long Island in Glen Cove, NY with additional facilities in California and Mexico (www.pleatco.com).
“The acquisitions of APEL and Milton are core to our strategy at Pleatco – to build a diversified, aftermarket focused filtration products company with an unwavering commitment to science and innovation,” said Rob Langley, a managing partner and co-founder of Align. “Rick has been on the board at Pleatco since we invested in 2017, he has a great track record of building and growing filtration businesses and we look forward to working with Rick and the broader Pleatco team to execute our organic growth initiatives and to further build the Pleatco platform through acquisitions.”
Align Capital Partners makes control investments in companies that have from $3 million to $10 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include specialty manufacturing, distribution and business services. The firm was founded in 2016 by managing partners Steve Dyke, Robert Langley, and Chris Jones – all formerly of The Riverside Company – and has offices in Cleveland and Dallas (www.aligncp.com).
In addition to Mr. Langley, other members of Align that worked on the APEL and Milton acquisitions included Operating Partner John Dupuy, Vice President Matt Beesley, and Senior Associate Jonathan Vadiee.
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | March 20, 2019