PE Portfolio Management: Flexible PVC Market Expansion
For our private equity client, we provided industry expertise that advanced the plateauing sales performance within their PE portfolio management strategy for the flexible PVC division
The Challenge in PE Portfolio Management for PVC Products
In an industrial industry where loyalty runs deep with suppliers and manufacturers, our client’s portfolio company saw sales plateauing in their vinyl solutions division. When they came to our team at Apex Leaders, their sales team needed the expertise and guidance to find new applications for their flexible PVC products and a way to identify potential customers in unsaturated markets, all while aligning their efforts with a comprehensive PE portfolio management strategy to ensure sustainable growth.
The management team, including the CEO and VP of Sales from the portfolio company, turned to us for expert input on market potential and direction for their division sales team.
Our Client’s Key Concerns
- Find ways to identify new customers who currently use or have a need for flexible PVC solutions
- Define the ideal profile for potential customers in untapped markets
- Assess market entry and sales strategy for identified customer targets, with the goal to gather consistent leads
- Evaluate the knowledge gaps hindering negotiation with sourcing professionals and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who use flexible PVC in their products.
The Search for an Advisor
Upon intake, our project team developed advisor evaluation criteria with our client and their private equity portfolio management team. Eligible candidates needed to have specialized product experience with Flexible PVC. This was critical. Rigid PVC or other plastics materials were irrelevant; we needed industry leaders who could speak to the nuances, competitive landscape and forward market trends of a particular division.
Within 27 hours, we identified 24 industry leaders from four major competitors and adjacent industries. Further screening for sales and marketing executives, supply chain managers, and sourcing professionals we delivered a comprehensive array of advisors, fully vetted to ensure all the client’s existing knowledge gaps were addressed.
“It was the best interview I had done all year and we had our entire management team on the call. The quality of information we received from Apex Leaders’s advisor, I don’t think we could have gotten that anywhere else.”
Rob Hinckley
VP Sales and Marketing, TMI PVC
The Results
The management team engaged the private equity advisor from their direct competitor, who lead the industry in the flexible PVC category. The advisor had doubled the company’s sales during her tenure and shared insights into how our client could capitalize on unique opportunities in the private and government sector previously unknown to them. This effort highlights how PE portfolio management strategies can harness expertise to unlock growth potential.
In addition, Apex Leaders sourced private equity advisors for each additional diligence angle:
- Former Sales & Operations Executive, Value Vinyls
- Former CEO, Tencate Union Protective Fabrics
- Former CEO, Shiekd Technologies Corporation
- Vice President of Sales Operations, Chase Doors
The engagement was so thorough that the client’s management team closed the project, electing to continue working with this top advisor.
Driving Growth in PE Portfolio Management with Expert Advisors
For our client’s portfolio company, we helped them achieve a significant breakthrough in their stunted flexible PVC division sales. The client’s PE portfolio management team and its leadership continued to engage this advisor and explore the option of hiring her as a full-time partner for their portfolio’s sales team. This partnership reinforced the importance of PE portfolio management in driving meaningful business outcomes.
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