Wind Point Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, acquired Paragon Films. Headquartered in Broken Arrow, Okla., Paragon is a manufacturer of cast stretch films that are used to unitize loads while in storage and transit. The company operates three manufacturing facilities in Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Washington.
Paragon was founded in 1988 by Mike Baab, whose products are known for being able to provide higher performing load containment through thinner gauged films. Baab will remain a significant investor and Paragon board member.
“Wind Point is the perfect fit with Paragon’s culture and core values,” Baab says. “This partnership will provide Paragon with the opportunity to pursue tremendous growth and will benefit our customers and employees, which was my most important goal as I begin to transition into retirement. I am thankful that Wind Point will allow Paragon to continue its vision and goals.”
Additionally, Wind Point is partnering with Stan Bikulege who will serve as Paragon chairman and Darin Tang who will join Paragon as CEO. Bikulege is a Wind Point advisor and the current chairman and CEO of Novolex, a manufacturer of flexible paper and plastic packaging products. Wind Point invested in Hilex Poly (Novolex’s predecessor) in 2012, and Bikulege grew the company from $500 million to more than $2 billion in revenue. Tang was recently the senior vice president of strategic packaging solutions ($2.8 billion) at Veritiv, a North American paper and packaging distributor. Prior to Veritiv, Tang served as president of Unisource Worldwide’s packaging solutions group ($1.3B billion) and oversaw more than 650 employees across multiple countries.
“We are excited to acquire Paragon and invest in the next phase of its growth,” says Alex Washington, a managing director at Wind Point. “Mike Baab has built a phenomenal company with best-in-class technical leadership. Wind Point has a proven strategy of working with family-owned companies to navigate leadership transition. With Stan and Darin’s complementary experience and track records for creating value in the packaging and industrial film markets, we look forward to continued success.”
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of this great organization,” Tang says. “I look forward to working with the Paragon team and building upon the platform that Mike Baab has built. Paragon’s reputation and product portfolio are a fantastic foundation for Paragon’s future growth.”
