Kohlberg buys Pexco, merges with PPC Industries to form Spectrum Plastics

Increases breadth & depth of plastic & material solutions primarily for the medical device market

Last Updated : May 10 2017 | 1:43 PM IST

The New York-headquartered private equity firm Kohlberg & Company Llc has closed the acquisition of Pexco and successfully merged the business with PPC Industries Inc, a Kohlberg portfolio business which also comprises Kelpac Medical.

The new entity will be named Spectrum Plastics Group, underscoring the wide and comprehensive range of plastic and material solutions it is now able to bring to market, most notably for the medical device sector. Spectrum Plastics Group will feature multiple thermoplastic and silicone tubing extrusion, injection moulding, film, packaging, assembly and value-add manufacturing technologies across 20 plants, five countries, and three continents, comprising more than 2,000 employees.

Neil Shillingford, chief executive officer of Spectrum Plastics Group, commented, “We are thrilled to have closed this transaction and to announce the launch of our new, combined company, Spectrum Plastics Group. There are few businesses as unique and well-resourced as Spectrum Plastics Group in the market today, and we aim to support our customers fully with such a broad range of manufacturing technologies and products.”

The formation of Spectrum Plastics Group creates a more comprehensive suite of medical solutions under one provider by combining the related capabilities previously under Pexco Medical and Kelpac Medical. The medical business will consist of 15 manufacturing facilities across the globe and feature both thermoplastic and silicone technologies. Both Pexco and PPC Industries, however, will retain their industrial brands and marks for industrial profile extrusion and industrial packaging businesses respectively.

The Spectrum Plastics Group name belonged to the Pexco portfolio of brands as a result of its acquisition of the Minneapolis-based precision injection moulder in 2013. It is re-launching with a new mark and logo.

Commenting on this new name and brand for the entire operating unit, Mauricio Arellano, president of the medical division, said, “We now bring a full spectrum and in most cases unmatched set of specialty plastics capabilities to the medical device sector, so the opportunity to re-launch our brand, one with a long history in medical devices and strong brand equity with our customers, was compelling. It speaks precisely to our unique position within the medical device market and our ability to support our customers’ noble mission of restoring health for millions of patients worldwide.”

Roger Prevot, operating partner at Kohlberg and chairman of Spectrum Plastics Group, added, “Since Kohlberg’s acquisition of PPC in 2014, our goal has been to build a broadly diversified medical componentry leader. The combination of Pexco with PPC represents the ideal next step in our achievement of this vision.”