New Chapter for Polartec

Many in New England will remember December 11, 1995. That was the day that Malden Mills, the maker of PolarFleece® and the employer of thousands, burned to the ground.

The company made headlines again June 12 when Industry Week reported that Polartec – the name adopted after several reorganizations that followed the Malden Mills fire – was being acquired by Milliken & Company. According to the story, “Milliken, with over a century and a half of textile expertise, will benefit from Polartec’s textiles for outdoor, workwear and military apparel.”

There’s an interesting story behind this newest development.

Malden Mills owner Aaron Feuerstein after the fire pledged to rebuild the century old company, creating a state-of-the-art fabric manufacturing factory. He even pledged to keep the 3,000 employees on the payroll throughout the process. It made him a hero.

But he also was bucking prevailing business wisdom at the time, resisting suggestions the company move production overseas and downsize into a primarily sales company.

Then, after being slammed by recession, the company in November of 2001 declared bankruptcy.

It has been through several reorganizations since, including being renamed Polartec. In 2015, its owner – Versa Capital – made news by closing down its manufacturing plant in Lawrence, Mass. and shifting production to plants in New Hampshire and Tennessee.

And now it enters a new chapter.

What our clients are saying...

“New Image Coatings, owners of Seal-Once, retained Business Transition Strategies in April of 2015 to locate a strategic buyer for the company. This was successfully completed during April of 2016 when we were acquired by UC Coatings of Buffalo, New York. Working at our side throughout this process were John Howe director, and Ken Schaefer, deputy director, of Business Transition Strategies. From the start of the project, where the information memorandum was developed, to helping us create the management presentation to acquirers, through negotiating the letter of intent and then the definitive agreement, they were there with me and our professional team every step of the way. It took nearly one year to the day to complete the project, but they never lost focus on my best interests and helped me keep my eye on business. This sale was very complex. It included transfer of trade secrets from the product developer, …as well as the transfer of a manufacturing and licensing agreement we had with the core compound producer… John and Ken marketed the company to a range of strategic acquirers, including a number of private equity groups and their platform companies, which ultimately resulted in an agreement with United Coatings… BTS’s level of expertise in the process and close attention to detail enabled us to successfully navigate the deal. I would recommend John Howe and Ken Schaefer to any company owner considering selling.”

- Hank Croteau

New Image Coatings