Plaskolite

Situation

Plaskolite is North America’s largest manufacturer of transparent thermoplastic sheet products, with a focus on customized, niche products for a wide variety of applications. Diversified across products, customers, end-markets and distribution channels, Plaskolite has the #1 market share in extruded acrylic and polycarbonate sheet in North America. Its manufactured sheeting is used for applications such as storm windows, indoor and outdoor signage, point-of-purchase displays and industrial lighting.

Investment

The company had been solely owned by the Donald G. Dunn family since its 1950 inception. We leveraged our experience in successfully acquiring family-owned businesses to gain the confidence of the founders and management. In late 2015, as the preferred buyer in a competitive process, we made the first outside equity investment in Plaskolite, acquiring a majority ownership interest. Recognizing the strength of the relationship and opportunity, the founders and management retained a significant ownership stake by co-investing in the transaction.

Charlesbank Role

Strategic Human Resources: Expanded the leadership team, advised on succession planning and helped develop a deep bench of mid-level talent to support growth across key functional areas

Organic Growth: Aided the company in focused, organic growth in nascent product lines and adjacent product categories

Scaling Operations: Supported the business as it doubled its number of manufacturing lines and expanded the employee base from 635 to 1,300; invested in new state-of-the-art corporate headquarters

M&A: Worked with management to implement a programmatic M&A process with streamlined sourcing and execution. Resulted in four strategic and highly accretive acquisitions – two corporate carve-outs and two acquisitions from private sellers; each transaction sourced and negotiated on an exclusive proprietary basis

Results

During Charlesbank’s ownership period, Plaskolite made progress on all key areas of our investment thesis.  Building on strong core competency in extruded sheet manufacturing, the company added four manufacturing facilities and more than 25 extrusion and profile lines. The four acquisitions expanded Plaskolite’s addressable market and increased exposure to growth segments. Doubling its employee base, the company solidified its leadership position in the market, maintaining exceptionally strong customer loyalty. Over the three-year ownership period, Plaskolite significantly grew volume and doubled its earnings. In December 2018, we exited the investment, selling our ownership interest to PPC Partners.

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