Thilmany, LLC new name for former Industrial Papers Business

Jun 03, 2005. /Lesprom Network/. Officials from the Mt. Kisco, New York-based Kohlberg & Company, LLC, an affiliate of which acquired recently the Industrial Papers Business from International Paper, have announced the identity and organization structure under which its newest portfolio company will operate effective immediately. The new company is named Thilmany, LLC and has operational headquarters in Kaukauna, Wisconsin where Oscar Thilmany founded the original Thilmany Pulp & Paper Company in 1883. The paper mills in Kaukauna and De Pere, Wisconsin will operate as Thilmany Papers; the converting operation in Kaukauna as Thilmany Packaging; and the release products facilities in Menasha, Wisconsin, Lancaster, Ohio and Heerlen, The Netherlands will operate as Akrosil. Thilmany, LLC will be governed by a Board of Managers consisting of principals of Kohlberg & Company; a non-operating Chairman and a President and Chief Executive Officer, who will be responsible for the overall operations of the company. Jack Rohrbach will serve as the Chairman of the Board of Managers. With more than 20 years experience in the paper and packaging industry, Rohrbach is the retired founder and former CEO of Coating Excellence International in Wrightstown, Wisconsin; and is the former CEO of The Paper Factory and of Artfaire, both divisions of The Fox Valley Corporation of Appleton, Wisconsin and the former President of Cleo Gift Wrap, Memphis, Tenn. Thilmany, LLC has offered employment to the approximately 1,400 workers at the five plants with minimal changes to its benefits programs to ensure continuity in the workforce, Zuleger said. The sale also includes a 12-year supply agreement with International Paper's Androscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine to manufacture lightweight specialty papers, which will continue to be sold under the Thilmany Papers brand. Thilmany, LLC manufactures and converts lightweight packaging, pressure sensitive and industrial papers such as laminations, grease resistant packaging, interleaving applications, pressure sensitive and medical products. Thilmany Papers manufacturing operations are located in Kaukauna and De Pere, Wisconsin, while converting operations are based within Thilmany Packaging at the Kaukauna Mill and through the Akrosil release products division with facilities in Menasha, Wisconsin; Lancaster, Ohio; and Heerlen, The Netherlands. Founded in 1987, Kohlberg & Company is a private equity firm with offices in Mt. Kisco, New York and Palo Alto, California. Together with its affiliates, Kohlberg manages more than $3.7 billion of capital. Through its affiliates, Kohlberg has completed over 75 acquisitions and recapitalization transactions in a variety of industries, including a focus on investments in the manufacturing, healthcare, consumer products and service industries.