Tips for buying or selling a plastics business: Machinery Minutes

What you'll learn on this episode of the Machinery Minutes podcast:

• Managing mergers and acquisitions: Whether you're buying, selling or keeping your business in the family, we spoke with experts who have tips to ensure the best outcome for all stakeholders. 

• Yaskawa America announces expansion: With a $180 million investment, the company will consolidate Illinois and Wisconsin operations in Franklin, Wis., and move its Drives & Motion division headquarters there. 

• Kistler system for injection molding: AkvisIO IME 7.0 manages and analyzes data to help processors become more efficient and improve part quality. 

Transcript

Hello, welcome to PMM Insight, a Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing podcast. I am your host, Ron Shinn, editor of PMM.  

This is an episode of Machinery Minutes, where at the beginning of each week I share with you three things you need to know in about three minutes. You can read the complete stories on plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com.  

Let’s get started. 

Story No. 1: Senior staff reporter Karen Hanna talked to mergers and acquisitions specialists and found that despite tough lending conditions and industry challenges, private equity funds are investing in plastics companies. 

Successful deals can lead to growth, investment in the business and renewed energy. But to create a successful transition, owners need to begin planning for a sale three to five years in advance and make sure they select the right buyer. 

M&A activity in plastics processing tends to concentrate on shops with under $100 million in revenue. Many are family-run, according to long-time consultant Laurie Harbour, a principal at Wipfli, an auditing, tax and advisory firm.  

Owners of these companies are typically concerned about their workforce, legacy and customers when it comes time to sell the business. 

The right deal can be a win-win situation. 

Owners looking to sell need to improve their bottom line by developing new markets, getting financials in order and enhancing the credentials of the team they employ.  

You can read this far-ranging story on plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com Headline is “Mergers, acquisitions provide off-ramp for departing plastics business owners.” 

Story No. 2: Yaskawa America is spending more than $180 million to consolidate the Illinois and Wisconsin operations of its Drives & Motion Division into one campus in Franklin, Wis. 

The company said it will begin manufacturing robots in Franklin that will be shipped directly to customers or integrated into production lines at the Miamisburg, Ohio, Yaskawa Motoman Division headquarters. 

The new campus will include a building for a headquarters, training and lab, facilities for manufacturing and packaging, and robotics and semiconductor production. 

Yaskawa America manufactures robotics, motion control, AC drive and solar inverter technologies. 

Headline is “Yaskawa America announces expansion.” 

Story No. 3: Kistler has introduced a new modular process monitoring system for injection molding. It is called AkvisIO IME 7.0. 

The software is designed to consolidate, document and analyze quality data from several sources. Kistler said it will help processors optimize processes, increase efficiency and improve part quality. 

It is also being positioned as a gateway for upcoming add-ons to conduct data analytics based on statistical methods and artificial intelligence. 

Headline is “Kistler system tailored for injection molding.” 

Those are my Top 3 items for this week. We have a new list every Monday.  

I hope you have enjoyed this episode of Machinery Minutes. You can always find our podcasts and the latest information about the worldwide plastics industry on our website, www.plasticsmachinerymanufacfturing.com and on social media.  

Remember to subscribe to the PMM Insight podcast on your favorite podcast app and tell a friend or colleague if you think they would enjoy the show. This podcast was produced by Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing, an Endeavor Business Media brand.