News

Three-Way Merger Transforms American Plastics into National Industry Leader in Scale and Innovation

ST. LOUIS, MO – April 18, 2018 – American Plastics, LLC (“American Plastics”), a leading manufacturer, importer and distributor of consumer storage and commercial cleaning products, and a Highview Capital, LLC (“Highview”) and Victory Park Capital Advisors, LLC (“Victory Park”) portfolio company, today announced it has acquired Centrex Plastics, LLC (“Centrex”) and Creative Plastic Concepts (“Creative”).

American Plastics will become one of the only companies in the United States to achieve national scale in the plastics industry, with a solid base of blue-chip retail and commercial customers. By combining three industry leaders, the new American Plastics will also accelerate the growth of its consumer storage business through innovation and cutting-edge technology.

The Company will operate across 15 facilities nationwide, including 5 manufacturing plants and 10 distribution centers. The two newly acquired businesses bring expanded manufacturing resources and industry-leading product development and technological capabilities, including 3D printing, in-house engineering teams and all-electric, high-speed injection molding machines (from 90 to 2000 tons). American Plastics will be able to provide superior quality throughout the product lifecycle, from refining a concept to bringing a product to market.

Robert Guerra will remain President and Chief Executive Officer of the combined company, and Nick Reinhart, owner and President of both Centrex and Creative, will be named Chief Innovation Officer at American Plastics and retain an equity stake in the combined company. American Plastics will utilize all current operations of both Centrex, which offers a variety of products for home, lawn and garden, and garage and workshop needs, and Creative, a growing leader in the home and garage storage category and industry leader in innovation and R&D capabilities. American Plastics will also maintain both companies’ successful customer-facing brands, including Centrex’s Commander and Creative’s Shelves and Shelves West.

Robert Guerra, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Plastics, said, “This is a transformational transaction for American Plastics that unites three industry leaders driven by the same commitment to delivering top-quality products and customer service. Nick is a true innovator who has established a new level and depth of partnership driven by technology, and I am thrilled to have him lead our retail strategy. With the added strength of the Centrex and Creative brands, American Plastics will be uniquely positioned to accelerate our sales, establish deeper partnerships with our customers, and acquire additional customers throughout the country.”

Nick Reinhart, President of Centrex and Creative, said, “We are very excited to partner with American Plastics, Highview and Victory Park. Combining Centrex, Creative and American Plastics will create an experienced and dynamic team, as well as increase our geographical manufacturing footprint and capacity and provide the capital necessary to continue accelerating our growth. Our advanced prototyping technologies, cutting-edge design and engineering team, and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities allow us to partner with our customers to take personalized, high-quality products from concept to creation in a matter of days. We look forward to continuing to provide our retail customers with the highest quality, at the best prices, as part of the American Plastics family.”

Ryan McCarthy, Founder and Senior Portfolio Manager of Highview Capital, LLC, added, “We greatly respect the business that the Reinharts have built and the leadership they have demonstrated. Our goal at Highview is to partner with companies undergoing a transformation to unlock new and creative growth opportunities. Through this three-way merger, we’re creating a national powerhouse in the plastics industry with exceptional scale and a great innovation engine. We look forward to our continued partnership with the newly expanded American Plastics family and are excited to continue supporting the company’s growth.”

The combined company will be owned by Highview, Victory Park and Nick Reinhart. Highview and Victory Park were represented by O’Melveny & Myers. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.