Huron Capital Partners Completes Sale of ExecFactor Initiative in Specialty Manufacturing Business

Huron Capital Partners LLC has announced it has divested its interest in Bloomer Holdings, Inc. through a sale to Charter NEX Films, a portfolio company of Pamplona Capital Management.  Headquartered in Bloomer, Wisc., Optimum Plastics is a leading manufacturer of custom cast embossed and blown film structures across a range of end markets.

Huron Capital first invested in Optimum in 2012, as part of an ExecFactor initiative in the specialty chemicals and films market and installed CEO Kevin Keneally immediately upon making its initial investment.  Since that time, annual revenue has grown from $45 million to over $100 million and the number of employees has grown from 66 to 145.  The most significant milestone was the 2014 merger between Optimum Plastics, with its expertise in blown barrier films, and Bloomer Plastics, a leader in cast embossed films. 

Keneally said, “With both cast embossed and blown film capabilities, we believe we have built Optimum into a major player in the custom films marketplace.  Huron Capital has been very supportive of our organic and acquisition-related growth initiatives. The firm supported significant investments in technology, capacity and business development resources, and they shared the management team’s vision of building a technically advanced, custom manufacturer with diverse product offerings.”

Brian Demkowicz, Managing Partner at Huron Capital, added, “Dating back to our investment in Quest Specialty Chemicals in 2004, we have deep experience in the specialty chemicals industry, including coatings, adhesives and films.  We were looking to make additional investments in the space and having Kevin on board early as an Operating Partner gave us the confidence to proceed with the initial investment in the Optimum platform.  He proved to be a great partner, and we look forward to future ExecFactor® initiatives with executives like Kevin.”