22.12.2003

Management buyout team acquires Bil-Jax

US access equipment manufacturer and supplier, Bil-Jax, has been acquired from its German parent company Plettac by a partnership between Bil-Jax management and Indianapolis based Centerfield Capital, effective December 12.

The Bil-Jax management led buyout team includes chief executive Jeff Ott, vice president of sales & marketing, Chuck Hutchinson, vice president of finance, Tom Truesdale, engineering manager, Dave Brinegar and director of purchasing, Steve Fryman and Centerfield Capital. Bil-Jax employs more than 200 people at its 31,000 square metre manufacturing facility and headquarters in Archbold, Ohio.

Commenting on the purchase, Ott said: “With the conclusion of this management buyout after a two-year process, we are excited to now serve our customers with the focus and benefits that come from a management with a financially vested interest in the company.”

Bil-Jax’s former parent company plettac AG, had been forced into bankruptcy in 2003 due to very difficult economic conditions in Germany and throughout Europe. Although Bil-Jax had its own independent capital structure under Plettac, the pressure to grow in a difficult economy had been intense since it was one of the few self-supporting companies under the Plettac umbrella.