Local company changes ownership

• Minnesota Rubber & Plastics

An investment firm named Norwest Equity Partners recently acquired the Quadion Corporation, which locals may know as Minnesota Rubber & Plastics and which has eight locations including the one in River Falls. Debbie Griffin photo

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Norwest Equity Partners announced Sept. 17 that it acquired the Quadion Corporation, which locals know better by the name Minnesota Rubber & Plastics, 434 Highland Dr. -- the first business to occupy a site in the Whitetail Ridge Corporate Park 17 years ago.

Norwest is a leading middle-market investment firm with offices in Minneapolis and New York. MR&P is an international full-service provider of high-value rubber and plastic molded components and assembly solutions.

The company serves diverse end markets which include medical, automotive, plumbing, industrial, off-road, distribution, food and beverage, and fluid management.

“In 1945, MR&P started as a small family-owned company in a suburb of Minneapolis, and through three generations of leadership, it has developed into a world-class, global corporation with a reputation for supplying the finest components and assemblies for the most challenging applications,” said Jim Lande, MR&P CEO. “MR&P has seen very significant growth over the last five years, and the capital investment from NEP will provide us with the resources necessary to help continue our overall growth objectives, including growth in China and within the medical market.”

MR&P spokesman in Minneapolis Aron Yngve said, “We’re really excited about our new ownership. They are a very experienced local company with an understanding of our business and the ability to support us as we grow.”

NEP representatives confirm that no changes are planned for the River Falls location. It remains open under the same name and will undergo neither layoffs nor any additional hiring in the near future. MR&P employs 120 people in River Falls and 1,100 worldwide.

Yngve said the River Falls plant has been central to the company’s strategy for automotive markets. It added clean rooms for assembly and molding at the local facility in 2008 to help the company serve medical-devices clients.

He said about the River Falls plant, “That facility we see as being central to our growth.”

NEP Principal and MR&P board member Andrew Cantwell, said, “On behalf of NEP, we are excited to partner with Jim and the MR&P management team. This investment fits nicely with our focus of investing in the diversified industrial sector.”

He said MR&P operates within the highly-fragmented global rubber and plastic manufacturing industry and is well-positioned to benefit from continued positive market dynamics. Cantwell said the company has great momentum.

MR&P has been in business for 70 years to design, develop, compound and engineer materials, components and assemblies for technically demanding applications. MR&P offers full-service capabilities and solutions that range from engineering a single mission-critical rubber or plastic component to providing complete contract manufacturing solutions.

MR&P has nine facilities worldwide: Plymouth and Litchfield, Minn.; Mason City, Ia.; Watertown, SD; River Falls, Wisc.; Irvine, Calif.; China; Europe; and Singapore.

Learn more about MR&P online at is web site www.mnrubber.com.

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