Pat Brandstatter and Dirk Kruger are in the envious position of being able to have their cake and eat some of it, too. As key players in the more than 40-year run of Bridgman-based Kruger Plastic Products they will maintain significant stakes in their company even after selling it to a new Chicago-based private equity firm, HC Private Investments.
First established in 1975 as a custom injection molder dedicated to quality and customer service, Kruger Plastic Products, located just off the intersection of Lemon Creek Road and Red Arrow Highway in Bridgman, is an integral part of its customers’ manufacturing process, providing them with end-to-end, value-added injection molding solutions, from in-house production engineering and design, raw material sourcing, tool making, logistics, assembly and even inventory management.
The family-owned, custom injection molding manufacturer of niche products and components has approximately 100 employees and is now owned by HC Private Investments, a private equity investment firm focused on making investments between $5-million and $30-million in lower middle-market manufacturing businesses within the consumer and industrial markets. Terms of the private deal were not disclosed.
Kruger’s President, Pat Brandstatter and Vice President of Engineering Dirk Kruger will maintain significant stakes in the new enterprise. Brandstatter says, “We are excited to be working with HCPI to build long-term value. We believe that HCPI’s experience and capabilities make them the ideal partner for Kruger to take advantage of the significant opportunities ahead while maintaining our core values of quality and service.” Dirk’s father, Dieter Kruger, was the founder of what was originally known as Kruger Tool. 2017 sales for the Bridgman plant totaled $12-million according to a report in Plastic News.
John P. Kelly is Managing Partner for HCPI. He tells us, “Kruger Plastic Products has distinguished itself through an unwavering focus on quality and service to its many great customers and we are excited to partner with Pat and Dirk to help them expand the business.” He adds, “We have great respect for the team and business that has been built over the course of four decades.”
Kruger currently serves customers across a variety of industries including consumer, industrial, and recreational vehicle end-markets. Meanwhile, HCPI has identified numerous opportunities to accelerate sales growth through strategic investment in manufacturing capabilities and personnel to better service Kruger’s existing customer base, as well as expand into new end markets such as medical products.
Matthew J. Moran is another Managing Partner at HCPI, who says, “We could not be more delighted to build on the legacy of Kruger Plastic Products, and look forward to working with the team to build a growth platform and bring Kruger’s world-class products and services to a broader array of customers.”
Kruger’s Lemon Creek Road facility, across from the Siemans automotive complex, incorporates 47 injection molding machines ranging in size from 25 tons to 1,000 tons, and supports a fully-staffed, full-service mold-making and repair department with CAD/CAM capabilities and off-line programming.
Winston & Strawn LLP served as legal counsel to HCPI in the transaction, while Bluewater Partners served as financial advisor to Kruger, and Wintrust Financial Corporation provided debt financing for the deal.
Plastic News also says that the acquisition of Kruger is the first deal for HC Private Investments which launched operations at mid-year last year “as the private equity arm of HC Technologies, LLC, a Chicago-based principal trading firm that specializes in foreign exchange and futures markets.”
