German Recycled Plastics Maker Gets Funding Boost

Silver Lake Kraftwerk, a private equity firm headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., has invested $40.1 million in Friedola Tech, a Geismar, Germany-based manufacturer of products for the automotive and packaging industry made with recycled plastic.

According to Silver Lake Kraftwerk, the investment will enable Friedola Tech to further develop its product lines, expand its business in key market segments and expand its operations into new geographic regions, including the opening of a manufacturing facility in Greenville, S.C.

The company expects to open the South Carolina facility by early 2013. The plant will be opened in stages, with the expectations that a manufacturing line will start by 2014. Friedola Tech currently operates three facilities in Germany.

Under terms of the transaction, WHEB Partners, a European-based resource efficiency private equity firm, has agreed to sell its majority stake in Friedola Tech to Silver Lake Kraftwerk while remaining a shareholder.

Friedola Tech supplies what it calls lightweight, recyclable plastic products. The company primarily uses post-industrial polypropylene plastic scrap material.

“There is a growing global market for engineered plastics and industrial products that are lightweight and reusable,” says Josh Raffaelli, a partner with Silver Lake Kraftwerk. “Friedola Tech is uniquely positioned as a market leader in this industry and we are eager to support their growth and expansion.”

“With Silver Lake’s global presence, technology expertise and focus on value creation, we are confident the firm will make an excellent partner as we grow our business,” says Werner Eisenhardt, Friedola Tech’s CFO.

The deal is currently being reviewed for anti-trust approval by German authorities.

Silver Lake Kraftwerk bills itself as “the energy investment strategy” of Silver Lake, an investor in the global technology industry.