Simclar sells Ozark plant to private equity firm

A technology components manufacturer that occupies the former home of the Fasco plant in Ozark has changed hands as part of an international property deal.

Los Angeles-based private equity firm Balmoral Funds LLC has acquired Ozark’s Simclar Interconnect Technologies Inc. plant at 1624 W. Jackson St. as part of an agreement that includes Simclar plants in Hialeah, Fla., and Matamoros, Mexico.

Balmoral Funds is rebranding the 90,000-square-foot Ozark plant to Concurrent Manufacturing Solutions LLC, and its 32 employees will continue to assemble electronics for the telecommunications industry, said plant General Manager Bill Stanfill.

Stanfill said there are no planned staff changes in the acquisition. He said the Balmoral purchase eliminates a lot of uncertainty following a June 2011 bankruptcy protection filing by United Kingdom-based parent company Simclar Group. The move transferred the company’s ownership to the Bank of Scotland, putting the future of the Ozark plant in question.

“We knew the company would be sold, and we were concerned how that process would go and whether the company would even remain in Missouri,” Stanfill said. “The process went well, so most people are optimistic about the change. There are promises of investment in equipment and we have a new sales direction, so we are pretty upbeat.”

Balmoral Funds, which specializes in recapitalizing small- and middle-market companies, typically invests $5 million to $20 million for a period of two to five years in companies under financial distress, seeking an operational turnaround or that are undervalued in the market, according to BalmoralFunds.com. The company, which manages more than $100 million in assets, plans to invest in capital equipment, facility improvements, process improvements and working capital at the Concurrent Manufacturing plants, according to Balmoral principal Robin Nourmand.

“We specialize in special situations, which is a euphemism for companies that have not been growing to their full potential,” Nourmand said, adding that Simclar had more than $15 million in debt that was negotiated out of Balmoral’s purchase from Bank of Scotland, the secured creditor in the bankruptcy case.

Simclar moved its Springfield operations and its roughly 110 employees – which had operated under Northrup Grumman Electronic Systems – to the former Fasco plant in Ozark in 2007. Scottish company Simclar Group Ltd. bought Northrup Grumman’s Springfield plant in 2006.

“Our business has shrunk due to continued movement of product off-shore,” Stanfill said of the steady shedding of jobs at the plant during recent years. “With this acquisition, we’re looking to get new equipment and technologies so that we can compete as a domestic supplier.”

In the deal, Stanfill said Balmoral signed a five-year lease for an undisclosed amount with landowner Phil Wiland of Wiland Direct. He said Balmoral executives would like to vertically integrate the former Concurrent companies by securing contract manufacturing projects that utilize the sheet metal made at the Mexico plant and the electronic cabling produced in Florida.

Stanfill has worked 36 years for the company that is going through its fourth name change – from Litton to Northrup to Simclar and now Concurrent. While Balmoral has named Ben Teno at the Hialeah plant Concurrent’s CEO and chief financial officer, Nourmand said the company has been pleased with Stanfill’s role as manager in Ozark.

The goal, he said, is to become a much more integrated and healthy business. “One thing our new CEO is intent on doing is broadening our customer base significantly, as well as our capabilities and offerings,” he added, declining to say how much the company was planning to invest in the business or what new capabilities it could offer leading telecom companies.

Paris-based Alcatel-Lucent is Concurrent’s largest customer, Stanfill said, and about 75 percent of its revenues come from telecom clients. Its products include telecom switchboards for cellular networks and circuit boards for lighting displays. Stanfill said one of its customers handled the lighting displays at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Stanfill said Balmoral officials haven’t announced the scope of the planned investments in Ozark.

“We are still looking at specifics,” he said. “Really, what we are looking for are types of equipment that would expand the ranges of the products we build.”

Cindy Osburn, a process control specialist with 33 years of experience with the company, said she is glad to see Balmoral found value in the company.

“I’m excited about the change,” Osburn said.

“I’ve worked for three different companies over the years. It can be a challenge to see what changes will come about, but I’ll give it a chance. I feel good about it.”[[In-content Ad]]