Private Equity Firm Buys Phillips Plastics Corporation

Phillips Plastics Corporation has a new owner.

Kohlberg & Company L.L.C., a private equity firm based in Mount Kisco, N.Y., acquired Phillips Plastics Corp. on Friday for an undisclosed amount.

Executives with both companies said the merger would allow Phillips to better serve its global customers.

“Working with Kohlberg, we will be able to strategically grow our business to meet the needs of our customers worldwide,” Phillips CEO Brad Wucherpfennig said. “Today we go forward under new ownership, but our commitment remains the same—to provide our customers with a resource for technology and engineering expertise that will give their products a competitive edge in the marketplace.”

Wucherpfenning and Phillips’ current management team will remain in their current jobs, according to a news release announcing the acquisition. No changes to Phillips’ current operations are planned.

“Partnering with Kohlberg represents an enormous opportunity for our company,” said Wucherpfennig. “Together we will focus on expanding our business to provide increased value for our customers, shareholders, employees and the communities in which we live and work.”

Kohlberg executives said the financial strength of its private equity funds will help accelerate Phillips’ ability to serve its customers on a global basis. “We are excited to be working with the people of Phillips,” noted Sam Frieder, managing partner at Kohlberg. “We look forward to helping Phillips enhance and expand its service offering, which will directly benefit customers across all market segments.”

Since its inception in 1987, Kohlberg has completed more than 50 platform investments and more than 80 add-on acquisitions, with aggregate transaction value of more than $8 billion. Kohlberg has invested more than $2.6 billion across six private equity funds to date.

Phillips Plastics Corporation manufactures highly engineered injection-molded plastic and metal products and generates annual sales of more than $250 million. The company employs 1,300 people in 14 locations throughout the United States, including design centers in Wisconsin and California, and a medical campus with 180,000 square feet of U.S. Food and Drug Administration-registered facilities dedicated to high volume medical and clean room manufacturing.