Custom Plastic Specialties, LLC, which operates in the promotional products market as supplier CPS/Keystone (PPAI 111040), has announced a management-led buyout of the company in partnership with GenCap America. The news was first reported in a PPB Newslink Breaking News alert on Monday.
Key members of the senior management team participating in the buyout include Kippie Helzel, senior vice president, sales; Pete Gleason, vice president, sales; and Eric Enzbrenner, vice president, manufacturing. Leon Bilewitz, president and founder of CPS, will remain in a consulting role, although he has no financial interest in the new ownership.
“Our strong sales growth these last years has helped CPS strengthen our market position with all our distributor partners,” says Helzel. “The addition of Pete Gleason to our team has made a tremendous difference in our sales outreach, and the management team recognizes a great opportunity to take advantage of current financial conditions to make this significant investment in our company.”
Speaking to PPB Newslink, Helzel says, “As financial partners in the new company, the senior management team’s goal is to continue with business as usual. That being said, we see this as an opportunity to do a full review of where we are, and where we want to be in terms of our strategic management and procedures, our market position, etc.”
Gleason adds, “It is exciting, and quite flattering, to become part of the new ownership team at CPS. The entire employee family has worked extremely hard over the past 25 years to build the great reputation and position we have in the industry. This new investment will enable us to grow our sales and service to even greater levels. I am really looking forward to sharing with our customers an even more exciting CPS.”
GenCap America specializes in working with well-established companies with a strong history of consistent sales and profitability, and a strong and long-term management team. Helzel says, “Our many meetings with GenCap led us to have great confidence that they were the perfect partners for us to help achieve our goals, and we look forward to drawing on their expertise and support as we identify the best ways for us to continue to deliver the best value products and service in the industry.”
