MPE Partners Announces the Formation of a New Food Packaging Platform with Investments in Central Coated Products and Sun America

CLEVELAND and BOSTON, May 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- MPE Partners ("MPE" or "Morgenthaler Private Equity") announced today investments in, and the simultaneous merger of, Central Coated Products ("Central Coated") and Sun America (collectively, the "Company") to establish a new platform dedicated to providing custom, innovative, and high performance food packaging solutions. Following the merger, both Central Coated and Sun America will continue to operate out of their current manufacturing facilities, with no changes to day-to-day business operations. The Company offers custom cut and premium wax paper, paper baking cups, and plastic containers to a diverse mix of meat, cheese, baked goods, and other food processors through both direct sales and distribution. In addition, the Company sells a wide range of food service wax paper through its Carnation^® brand.

MPE partnered in the investments with Steve Porter, an owner-operator of Central Coated, Russ Romocean, founder of Sun America, and the senior management teams of both businesses. Steve Porter noted, "Over the last four decades, Central Coated's mission has been to deliver high-quality, custom wax paper solutions that solve critical productivity challenges for our customers. I'm proud of what our team has built and excited for the future potential alongside MPE and Sun America." Russ Romocean added, "We founded Sun America with a commitment to provide the industry's premier denesting paper cups and have continued to develop innovative and sustainable paper and plastic solutions for food processors. MPE's shared values and vision, as well as its ability to facilitate the merger with Central Coated, made it the right partner for Sun America."

To support the Company through its next phase of growth, MPE recruited industry veteran Dave Furstoss to join as Interim CEO and board member. Dave was previously the CEO at EasyPak, a thermoformed packaging provider, and spent over 17 years with Pactiv, a manufacturer of fresh food and beverage packaging. Constantine Elefter, Partner at MPE, said, "Since their inceptions, both Central Coated and Sun America have emerged as market leaders through a shared commitment to developing specialty solutions that address the challenges of high-speed food processing lines." Matt Yohe, Partner at MPE, added, "We are excited to build upon the foundations established by Steve and Russ, and to collaborate closely with Dave in pursuing promising new commercial and operational opportunities." Nick Stender, Principal at MPE, said, "We are thrilled to partner with the management team to pursue new growth avenues, including targeted M&A, to build an industry-leading food packaging platform rooted in innovation, custom capabilities, quality, and reliability."

William Blair provided buyside advisory services to MPE. Calfee, Halter, & Griswold LLP and BakerHostetler served as legal advisors to MPE. Churchill Asset Management and FS Investments provided financing to support the transactions. PMCF Investment Banking acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Sun America.

About Central Coated Products

Founded in 1976 and based in Alliance, OH, Central Coated is a manufacturer of custom cut and coated wax paper for food processing, food service, and industrial applications. The company offers food processing wax paper that is designed for customers' automated production lines to facilitate the continuous separation of food products, grease resistant food service wax paper for retail settings, and anti-slip wax paper for industrial and material handling applications. For more information, please visit https://centralcoated.com/.

About Sun America

Founded in 1993 and based in Alliance, OH, Sun America is a designer and manufacturer of custom paper baking cups for the high-speed production of muffins, cupcakes, and other baked goods, as well as thermoformed plastic containers and trays for automated packaging processes. For more information, please visit https://sun-america.com/.

About MPE Partners

MPE Partners ("MPE") seeks to be the preferred partner for entrepreneur- and family-owned companies. Based in Cleveland, OH and Boston, MA, MPE invests in profitable, lower middle market companies with EBITDA between $8 million and $40 million. MPE has two primary target investment areas: high-value manufacturing and commercial & industrial services. For more information, please visit www.mpepartners.com.

SOURCE MPE Partners