SOUTHLAKE, Texas; WINDSOR, Ontario; and GOTHENBURG, Sweden – May 26, 2016 – Insight Equity Holdings LLC (“Insight Equity”), a leading middle-market private equity firm, is pleased to announce that its automotive components portfolio company, the Plasman Group (“Plasman”), has acquired Plastal Industri (“Plastal”) from Handel Och Industri.
Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, Plastal Industri is a leading Tier 1 supplier of engineered thermoplastic bumper modules, painted and unpainted exterior trim, and plastic parts serving both the passenger car and heavy commercial vehicle markets. The company manufactures a wide range of innovative injection molded and surface treated exterior plastics including complex bumper systems, spoilers, and sill covers. Plastal was founded in 1961 in Sweden and operates out of four state-of-the-art production facilities in Sweden, Norway, and Belgium.
“Adding Plastal to our portfolio gives the Plasman Group a strategic footprint in the growing European Auto Market,” commented David Wiskel, Plasman Group’s Chief Executive Officer. “It also provides our company with new products and customers. The combined entity will offer our world class products and capabilities in two of the largest automotive markets in the world.”
Eliot Kerlin, Partner at Insight Equity, noted, “Plasman has proven itself to be a platform for growth, and not just through organic expansion. This is our third strategic acquisition in the last 18 months. With Plastal, we are excited to broaden both our geographic reach into Europe and our relationships with world-class OEMs like Volvo Car Corporation and Scania. This footprint in Europe provides the Plasman Group with a broad base from which to offer turnkey solutions for large exterior plastic components whether painted, chrome-plated, or both, to international and North American OEM customers.”
Andrew Boisseau, a Principal at Insight Equity, added, “This is an exciting acquisition for the Plasman Group. We are confident that the management teams at Plasman and Plastal can strengthen and grow the acquired businesses by leveraging the scale and resources of the Plasman Group.”
The Plasman Group (www.theplasmangroup.com) is a designer and manufacturer of Class A exterior trim products and sub-systems to a variety of OEM and Tier 1 customers. The company offers fully-integrated design, engineering, tooling, molding, finishing (painting and chroming), and assembly capabilities and has approximately 3,600 employees across its network of 16 facilities across North America and Europe. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Windsor, Ontario.
Insight Equity (www.insightequity.com) makes control investments in strategically viable, middle-market manufacturing and distribution businesses across a wide range of industries. Leveraging a proven, collaborative value creation model, Insight Equity facilitates operating enhancements and growth. The firm specializes in partnering with companies in complex or challenging situations, including corporate divestitures, management buyouts, aggressive growth opportunities, going-private transactions, restructurings, and transitions from family ownership. Insight Equity’s headquarters is located near the Dallas / Ft. Worth International Airport in Southlake, Texas. The firm also has an office in New York City.