Fischbein LLC announced that Jeffrey F. Reed has joined the company as Chief Executive Officer effective January 28, 2008. Mr. Reed had previously acted as the non-executive Chairman of the Board. He will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board.
Jeff was most recently the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (and a founding shareholder) of Pro Mach, Inc. ("PMI) where he worked from 1998 to 2005. PMI was a strategic acquisition build-up in the packaging machinery industry backed by two private equity groups. PMI was formed through 13 acquisitions over a six-year period under Jeff's direction. The business was sold in December 2004 with a significant return to its shareholders.
While at PMI, Jeff managed all acquisition activities, treasury, and legal, along with financial and accounting functions. Since leaving PMI in 2005, Jeff has worked as an advisor to several private equity firms on mergers/acquisitions and operational matters. From 1996 to 1998, Jeff was the Vice President of Finance and then the CFO of Greenfield Industries, a NASDAQ listed manufacturer of industrial cutting tools and consumer products with revenues of $600 million. The company was sold to Kennametal, Inc. in 1997 for over $1.1 billion. Prior to Greenfield, Jeff worked as director of corporate finance at Shaw Industries, Inc. (the world's largest floor covering manufacturer). He started his career at the public accounting firm of Arthur Andersen where he was a senior manager in the audit and business advisory practice. Jeff is a CPA and has an undergraduate degree in business and accounting from the University of Georgia.
"Jeff has played a key role in Fischbein's strong 2007 performance. His experience across operations, the deal space, and strong knowledge of the packaging equipment industry has strengthened Fischbein's position as we take the company to the next level, said President and CEO of Circle Peak Capital, R. Adam Smith. Circle Peak Capital led an investor group that acquired and recapitalized Fischbein LLC in May 2007.
For more than 90 years, the Fischbein family of companies has designed, manufactured and provided bag closing and handling equipment and complete systems to a worldwide customer base, specific to their applications. Fischbein offers a full range of filling, weighing, closing, and handling equipment to all industries that package their respective products in bags under the Fischbein, Saxon and Inglett brand names. Fischbein also manufactures material handling equipment under the Nestaflex and Maxx brand names. Fischbein's worldwide headquarters are located in Statesville, NC and its European headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium. The Company also has manufacturing and sales/distribution offices in Cleveland, OH, Hampton, VA, Paris, France, London, England, Singapore and Germany. For more information, go to www.fischbein.com or call (704) 871-1159.
Circle Peak Capital is a private equity firm based in New York that focuses on making control-stake investments in lower-middle market and middle market companies that operate in the consumer, retail, industrial and financial services sectors. CPC's sole focus is to create shareholder value by building leading national brands and sustainable competitive advantages in partnership with management. CPC has decades of experience in acquiring, managing, and expanding companies with $100 million to $1 billion in sales. CPC's current portfolio represents more than $400 million in revenues, more than $60 million in EBITDA, and $200 million invested in junior capital. www.circlepeakcapital.com
