Investment Strategy - Private Equity Firm, Manufacturing

The KPS Difference

KPS works closely with all of a company’s stakeholders, from the shop floor to the Board Room, to improve operations, strengthen performance and build durable companies across economic, financial and industrial cycles.

This focus allows its Partners to remain deeply involved in each business and to partner side by side with world-class management teams to create value.

Operations-Driven Value Creation

KPS’ Operations Group, a fully integrated part of the KPS team, plays a critical role in partnering with world-class management teams to execute transformational change. The KPS Operations Group partners alongside world-class management teams in a targeted and practical manner, supporting initiatives related to safety, productivity, manufacturing footprint, procurement, supply chain management and process improvement.

The objective is to create a culture of continuous improvement.

Partnering with World-Class Management Teams

KPS seeks to grow its portfolio companies, both organically and through strategic acquisitions to expand into product industry or geographic adjacencies.

KPS portfolio companies have completed over 70 strategic follow-on acquisitions.

KPS Grows Companies and Establishes Industry Leaders

KPS Pursues Buy and Build Strategies

KPS works closely with management teams to support organic and strategic growth initiatives that strengthen manufacturing businesses over the long term. This includes investing capital in capacity expansion, equipment upgrades, facility modernization, research and development, and new product introductions.

KPS portfolio companies operate globally, serving customers in local and regional markets. In support of this, KPS has invested capital to expand manufacturing footprints and, in some cases, construct new facilities to better serve customers and reduce supply chain risk. These investments are made with a long-term perspective and are aligned with the operational needs of each business.

KPS also supports portfolio companies in pursuing acquisitions that enhance capabilities, expand product offerings, or improve geographic reach.

Partnering with world-class management teams is central to the success of every KPS investment with senior leadership working directly with a KPS Partner, enabling clear accountability, speed of decision-making and alignment on priorities.

This partnership approach has led many executives to work with KPS repeatedly over time, serving as leaders across multiple portfolio companies.

KPS provides its portfolio companies with manufacturing experience, a global network and resources to build world-class enterprises.

Improving safety and compliance
Optimizing operating cash cost structures
Creating and maintaining a process and culture of continuous improvement
Investing in returns-driven capital investment
Pursuing commercial excellence through rigorous analysis of customer and product profitability
Increasing output through improved capacity utilization of assets and facilities
Expediting new product development and investment in research and development
Establishing and improving fundamental key performance measures
Establishing competitive industry benchmarking and implementing best practices
Developing strategic planning and strategy deployment processes
Strengthening employee training
Improving product quality, customer service, and on-time delivery
Improving supply chain and distribution system management

Investing in People

On average, KPS portfolio companies reduce recordable safety incidents by 50% during our ownership. KPS has trained over 10,680 employees through the following: