Best Vinyl Appoints John Morrell as CEO

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Best Vinyl, Inc., a Marwit Capital portfolio company and the nation’s largest installer and wholesaler of vinyl fencing and related vinyl products such as patio covers, decking, and railing, today announced the appointment of John Morrell as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and member of the Board of Directors effective April 1, 2009. John will be responsible for building on the solid foundation and momentum achieved by the Best Vinyl team under former CEO Scott Petersen and current COO Vance Barrett as the company extends its market leadership into additional markets in the Western U.S.

“John is an accomplished leader with a track record of successfully growing and exiting private equity backed businesses”

“John is an accomplished leader with a track record of successfully growing and exiting private equity backed businesses,” said Chris Britt, Managing Partner at Marwit. “His strong operational background will serve us well in our continued expansion and improvement of Best Vinyl and we are excited to have John at the helm of another Marwit company. In our prior fund, Marwit worked with John from 1999 to 2004 as CEO of Gregg Gift Company, which grew to become a leader in the inspirational giftware market. During his tenure, John led the company to a doubling of revenues and a tripling of EBITDA and a successful sale to a NYSE company.”

To Best Vinyl, John brings nearly 40 years of experience leading manufacturing, distribution and service companies, including several years as President or CEO of various businesses in the building products industry. “John is a veteran CEO that has experience covering a broad range of corporate functions. He is well equipped to drive strategic development and direction and will also be very hands-on in optimizing day-to-day operations. John will be a great asset to Best Vinyl’s management team,” said Thomas Dollhopf, Principal at Marwit.

Prior to his previous role as CEO of former Marwit portfolio company Gregg Gift Company, John spent over two decades as CEO or in senior executive positions at Westburne Supply, Inc., Wycoff Company, Inc., and Purolator Services, Inc. Most recently, John served as CEO of two other businesses on behalf of an investment firm.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to lead Best Vinyl and build on the success that Marwit has achieved with this strategy to date. The company has a young and aggressive management team that should enable us to grow and improve the business on an ongoing basis. Over the next few years, we will continue to build out our footprint throughout the Western U.S. while continuing to deliver the highest quality service to Best Vinyl’s customers. With its strong price-performance features and rapidly growing adoption in many markets, vinyl fencing is displacing traditional fencing applications at an increasing rate across the country,” said Mr. Morrell.

About Best Vinyl

Best Vinyl (www.bestvinyl.com) is the nation’s leading installer of vinyl fencing and related products such as decks, railing, patio covers and other outdoor related landscaping products. The Company serves a highly diverse customer base in the residential, commercial, government, military and wholesale distribution markets in the Western U.S., and through its rapidly growing internet business (www.DIYVinylproducts.com) reaches a variety of customers nationwide. Best Vinyl was acquired by Marwit in March 2007, in partnership with the Company’s founders and senior management team, providing growth capital and management expertise to drive an expansion strategy that is focused initially on the Western U.S.

About Marwit Capital

Marwit (www.marwit.com) is one of the oldest and most experienced private equity firms in the Western U.S. Founded in 1962 and based in Southern California, Marwit invests in lower middle market businesses that are leaders in niche markets. Employing a collaborative operational focus, Marwit targets investments headquartered in the Western U.S. with revenues of $20-200 million, EBITDA of $3-15 million, and enterprise value up to $100 million, at the time of acquisition. Marwit partners with experienced CEOs and management teams to complete buyouts and provide growth capital for expansion investments. Marwit generally invests $10-30 million of equity capital per platform investment, in one or a series of investments. Marwit’s current fund, MCP II, is $183.7 million of committed capital and includes a portfolio of 10 platform companies.