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Intelligrated bought the FKI Logistex plant on Lebanon Road in 2009. (David Brock/dbrock@amnews.com / June 12, 2012) |
A company with a manufacturing facility in Danville will be acquired by a European private equity firm, but the current management team said the move could be good news in the long run.
Intelligrated, based in Mason, Ohio, announced Friday an agreement has been reached with Permira for more than $500 million. In a press release, the company said Intelligrated founders, Chris Cole, the chief executive officer, and Jim McCarthy, president and chief operating officer, will maintain a “significant stake” in the company and continue in their leadership roles.
During an interview Monday, Cole said Intelligrated, which provides automated material-handling solutions, services and products, has been in a rapid growth mode recently. He said the acquisition by Permira will allow Intelligrated to expand its reach.
“There is a lot of capacity for growth,” Cole said. “Jim (McCarthy) and I have put a lot into the company, and we have signed on to continue running it and growing it.”
Cole said there currently are about 140 employees at the Danville plant, which makes palett conveyors and parts to support the conveyor system plant in St. Louis. Although there will be no direct impact from the acquisition, Cole said the Danville plant likely will be part of the company’s plans.
“We have a nice plant in Danville,” Cole said. “There is a good workforce, and it is well equipped.”
Jody Lassiter, president and chief executive officer of the Danville-Boyle County Economic Development Partnership, told EDP and Boyle County Industrial Board members Monday he is monitoring the situation, though it likely will not mean major changes in Danville.
“With Intelligrated’s growth, the local facility is receiving additional business,” Lassiter wrote in an email. “Judging by the fact that the Danville plant had been slated for closure in 2010, this is a positive turnaround. The Danville facility continues to have the capacity to accommodate additional growth that can be shifted to this plant.”
Employees at the Danville plant, once home to Rexnord, Matthews Conveyor and FKI Logistex, have had some reason for concern since the economy began a downturn several years ago. Intelligrated bought the FKI Logistex plant on Lebanon Road in 2009 and later that year announced plans to consolidate parts of its operations, including about 245 positions in Danville, at its southern Ohio plants. The state of Ohio had offered millions in an incentives package to help lure the company. After two rounds of layoffs, though, the company announced in October 2010 it would maintain its Danville facility.
Intelligrated also has an engineering operation in Louisville, in addition to facilities throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. The company will maintain its headquarters near Cincinnati.
According to the release, Permira was founded in 1985, the firm advises funds with a total committed capital of about $26 billion.
Permira opened North American offices in New York in 2002, and its international investments in North America include Aearo Technologies, Intelsat, Freescale, BakerCorp, Genesys and Renaissance Learning.
