Handgards Acquires Inno-Pak, Creating Diversified Foodservice-Solutions Platform with Multiple Growth Tailwinds

ROSEMONT, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Handgards, LLC (“Handgards”), a leading distributor of foodservice products, including disposable gloves, reclosable bags, tabletop items, expendables, and other carryout products and a portfolio company of Wynnchurch Capital, L.P. (“Wynnchurch”), announced the acquisition of Inno-Pak, LLC (“Inno-Pak” or the "Company"), a portfolio company of Emerald Lake Capital Management.

Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Delaware, Ohio, Inno-Pak is a North American leader in innovative, sustainable, high-quality food packaging for the foodservice, grocery, convenience store, and hospitality industries. Inno-Pak has a broad range of more than 170 patents on products across multiple substrates.

“We could not be more excited to welcome Inno-Pak into the Handgards family,” said Joe Kubicek, CEO of Handgards. “This transformational add-on bolsters our offering of innovative, sustainable solutions and demonstrates our commitment to providing our customers with an extensive portfolio of the highest quality products, best-in-class service, and leading technical capabilities.”

Greg Gleason, Managing Partner of Wynnchurch, said, "Inno-Pak represents an opportunity to grow in key foodservice end markets, including grocery and convenience stores, and allows the platform to further capitalize on positive trends around substrate flexibility, consumer convenience, health and hygiene, and on-the-go consumption. We look forward to our continued partnership with Handgards and Inno-Pak as they continue their growth journey."

Carl Howe, Managing Director at Wynnchurch, added, ​“We’re thrilled to add Inno-Pak to the Handgards platform. In line with our original investment thesis, the acquisition of Inno-Pak adds differentiated converting and sourcing capabilities while further diversifying the consolidated platform into attractive end markets. We look forward to working with management to continue expanding the platform.”

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor, and Foley & Lardner LLP acted as legal advisor, to Wynnchurch.

About Inno-Pak:
Inno-Pak, headquartered in Delaware, Ohio, is a North American leader in innovative, sustainable, high-quality food packaging for the food service, grocery, convenience store, and hospitality industries. Inno-Pak has a broad range of more than 170 patents on products across multiple substrates. As a proud member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, Inno-Pak focuses almost exclusively on packaging that is recyclable, reusable, compostable, or a combination of all three categories. For more information, please visit: www.innopak.com.

About Handgards:
Handgards, headquartered in El Paso, Texas, is a leading distributor of foodservice products, including disposable gloves, reclosable bags, tabletop items, expendables, and other carryout products. For more information, please visit: www​.handgards​.com.

About Emerald Lake Capital Management:
Emerald Lake is a middle-market private equity firm investing in capital-efficient businesses with sustainable competitive advantages and strong growth prospects in the industrials and services sectors. Emerald Lake seeks to accelerate company growth and unlock potential through supportive, trusting partnerships with management teams and a proven-value creation strategy. Founded in 2018, the firm manages approximately $1.4 billion of equity capital across its portfolio. For more information, please visit www.elcm.com.

About Wynnchurch Capital:
Wynnchurch Capital, L.P., headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois, with an affiliate in Canada, was founded in 1999 and is a leading middle-market private equity investment firm. Wynnchurch’s strategy is to partner with middle market companies in the United States and Canada that possess the potential for substantial growth and profit improvement. Wynnchurch manages a number of private equity funds with $9.2 billion of regulatory assets under management and specializes in recapitalizations, growth capital, management buyouts, corporate carve-outs, and restructurings. Recently, Wynnchurch acquired Astro Shapes, a leading manufacturer of custom aluminum extrusions. Other recent investments include: Principal Industries, a leading provider of LED components and engineered assemblies; ORS Nasco, North America’s largest pure wholesaler of industrial MRO supplies; and Hydraulic Technologies, a market leader in high-pressure hydraulic tools. For more information, please visit: http://​www​.wyn​nchurch​.com or follow us on LinkedIn.