Custom Profile Announces Multiple Community Partnerships
WALKER, Mich., Jan. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Walker, Mich.-based Custom Profile, a leading manufacturer of extruded plastic products primarily for the appliance and office furniture industries, announced today that it has partnered with communities in Juarez, Mexico and Grand Rapids, Mich. to support a number of education initiatives.
Custom Profile has partnered with CECyTECH No. 22, a public high school that is located near one of the company's manufacturing facilities in Ciudad Juarez. The school's curriculum focuses on scientific and technological studies, and incorporates a Plastics Program that includes a Plastic Extrusion Module. Custom Profile has committed to supporting specific curriculum development and has dedicated machine hours to students who want to learn more about the extrusion process.
Custom Profile has also committed to working with schools and community partners in the Grand Rapids area. Through Grand Rapids Community College's (GRCC) Leslie E. Tassell M-TEC, the company participated in the Manufacturing Readiness course – a 40-hour certificate program dedicated to preparing students for entry level work in West Michigan manufacturing. The company has launched a Department of Labor certified Apprentice Program for Set-Up Extruder Operators, which combines 2,000 hours of on-the-job training with two classes at Grand Rapids Community College and provides an Extruder Operator Certificate upon completion.
Custom Profile recently hosted twelve students from the GRCC program for a tour and informational session. The company has also participated in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program at a Kentwood Elementary school and Manufacturing Week, an occasion during which North American companies open their doors to showcase the potential of modern manufacturing and foster interest in manufacturing careers.
"We continue to build on our company's core mission of providing customers with exceptional service and high-quality products, without sacrificing our commitment to our people or our communities," said John Boeschenstein, CEO of Custom Profile. "We hope that the community partnerships we have built prove as beneficial to our partners as they have to us."
Custom Profile is a part of Blackford Capital's Michigan Prosperity Fund, which invests in middle-market manufacturing, distribution, and service companies either headquartered or maintaining significant operations within the State of Michigan. In addition to providing growth and expansion capital and generating best-in-class investment returns, the fund also supports Michigan's economy by protecting and creating jobs within the state and reducing the export of capital from Michigan by out-of-state investors.
About Custom Profile
Since 1992, Custom Profile has specialized in extruded plastic products for the Appliance, Furniture, Office and Marine industries with various compounds like: ABS, Rigid PVC, Polyethylene, TPEs, TPUs, High Impact Polystyrene, Flexible PVC, and Polypropylene. For more information about Custom Profile, visit www.custom-profile.com.
About Blackford Capital
Winner of the 2015 M&A Advisor Deal of the Year award, Blackford Capital is a private equity firm based in Grand Rapids, Mich., that acquires, manages and builds middle-market manufacturing, distribution and service companies, with nine portfolio companies across the country. The firm operates out of their headquarters in Grand Rapids MI. Blackford reviewed roughly 5,000 transactions in 2014, and has closed 38 transactions in the past ten years. The firm's investment criteria includes mature, profitable businesses with revenues between $20 million and $100 million, with management teams that are either willing to remain with the company or are seeking to retire. For more information, visit www.blackfordcapital.com.
SOURCE Custom Profile
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