Questor Partners acquires Polar Corp

Jan. 1, 2005
Southfield MI-based Questor Partners Fund II LP has acquired Polar Corp, a St Cloud MN-based privately held manufacturer and service provider for tank

Southfield MI-based Questor Partners Fund II LP has acquired Polar Corp, a St Cloud MN-based privately held manufacturer and service provider for tank trailers, as well as a manufacturer and distributor of light-duty trailer parts.

Questor also announced that Al Koch, a principal of AlixPartners LLC and a Questor general partner, has been appointed chief executive officer of Polar, replacing James Jungels, who is retiring after 27 years at the company.

“Jim Jungels and the management team have worked hard to build the company, and we intend to continue this record of growth and improvement,” said Koch.

Polar Corp operates three business divisions: Quality Trailer Products, Polar Tank Trailer, and Polar Service Centers. In addition, Polar Corp operates a total of 35 facilities, has approximately 1,100 employees, and has current annual revenues of about $230 million.

Questor Management Co LLC, with offices in Southfield MI and New York City, manages the Questor Partners Funds, which have more than $1.1 billion of committed equity capital. Since it was founded in 1995, the company has successfully completed more than 20 acquisitions worldwide. These include the purchase of GeoLogistics, one of the world's largest global freight forwarding and logistics services providers; PinnOak Resources, a producer of metallurgical coal, which the fund purchased from US Steel; and Chef Solutions, a manufacturer of prepared foods, purchased from Lufthansa.