Paragon Metals LLC has announced the completion of its acquisition by affiliates of Stellex Capital Management, a middle market private equity firm.
With three manufacturing facilities in southern Michigan, Paragon is engaged in the business of manufacturing, distributing, sourcing and importing complex, tight tolerance precision-machined components and assemblies serving the automotive, heavy truck and general industrial markets. Following completion of the transaction, Bruce Swift, a widely respected automotive industry veteran, will serve as Paragon’s CEO.
Swift was most recently CEO of Diversified Machine Inc., a leading supplier of fully engineered chassis and powertrain components. During his tenure at Diversified Machine, the company realized six-fold growth, enabling a local Detroit company to become a global player within its industry.
Stellex and Swift have a long history of working together to buy, build and operate automotive suppliers. “We are thrilled to partner with Bruce Swift again through this transaction. Together with David Smith, Paragon’s vice president of sales, this partnership will enable Paragon to leverage its current customer base and achieve multiple growth opportunities,” said Mike Stewart, managing partner of Stellex. “We intend to invest a significant amount of capital in Paragon to expand the business both organically and through acquisitions in the automotive supplier industry.”
“We are tremendously excited about the acquisition of Paragon,” added David Waxman, managing director at Stellex. “We believe Paragon is an exceptional business with deep industry know-how and excellent customer relationships. We look forward to partnering with the company to deliver the next chapter of its growth through the combination of a customer-focused approach and operational excellence. Paragon is a leader in the automotive machining space and one of the few companies capable of producing large volumes of precision parts, with challenging engineering and design and build timelines.”
“We are delighted to be partnering with Stellex,” Swift added. “With Stellex’s support, Paragon is well-positioned to address customers’ evolving requirements. We are excited about driving the business to unparalleled levels of quality, innovation and operating efficiency with a partner that is committed to investing significantly in our people, technology and infrastructure.”
