The Sterling Group has acquired Polychem Corporation, a vertically integrated maker of strapping products and equipment.
Polychem is a manufacturer of polyester and polypropylene strapping products in a range of widths, colors, core sizes, and break strengths. The company’s products are used in the food and beverage, consumer packaged goods, and industrial industries.
Polychem operates a PET (polyethylene terephthalate, a form of polyester) recycling facility which processes bales of post-consumer PET, converting them into crystallized pellets for use in Polychem’s strapping extrusion lines and for external sale to consumer packaged goods companies.The company also manufactures and sells a variety of automatic and semi automatic strapping machines, power tools, and related accessories. Polychem was founded in 1974 and is headquartered near Cleveland in Mentor, OH (www.polychem.com).
“We look forward to working with Polychem to continue to build on the company’s long history of successfully serving customers with quality products and innovative securement solutions,” said Gary Rosenthal, a partner at The Sterling Group.
The Sterling Group invests in manufacturing, industrial services and distribution companies that have enterprise values from $100 million to $750 million. The firm emphasizes an operational approach in partnership with management teams to grow and improve the companies it acquires.
The Sterling Group has experience in the packaging sector including previous investments in Liqui-Box, a Richmond, VA-based supplier of bag-in-box flexible packaging (acquired in 2011 and sold in 2015 to Olympus Partners); Exopack, a Spartanburg, SC-based manufacturer of paper and plastic packaging (acquired in 2001 and sold in 2005 to Sun Capital Partners); and Saxco International, a Concord, CA-based distributor of rigid packaging products used in the wine, spirits and craft beer markets (acquired in 2010 and sold in 2019 to Atlas Holdings).
Since its founding in 1982, The Sterling Group has sponsored the buyout of 55 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions with a total transaction value of over $10 billion. The firm is headquartered in Houston (www.sterling-group.com).
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | March 18, 2019