Kamal K. Tiwari, the operating partner of Chicago-based Altair Investments Inc., has been named CEO of Xaloy Holdings LLC, a nearly century-old manufacturer of screws, barrels and components for injection molding and extrusion machinery.
Altair acquired Xaloy’s manufacturing plants in Austintown, Ohio, Pulaski, Va., and Chonburi, Thailand, as well as numerous sales offices from Westlake, Ohio-based Nordson Corp. in December.
The product line dates back to 1929 and generated more than $70 million in annual sales with 500 employees. The companies announced completion of the sale Feb. 1, followed by Tiwari’s new position on Feb. 2.
Tiwari has a mechanical engineering degree from India-based Karnatak University and is a black belt in design for Six Sigma. He will be in charge of a product brand that pioneered the use of bimetallic materials to improve the performance of plastic processing equipment for molders and original equipment manufacturers.
“Xaloy is one of those rare companies to have truly revolutionized the world through technology, and I couldn’t be more honored to have been chosen to lead the company,” Tiwari said in a news release.
He comes to Xaloy with more than 25 years of profit-and-loss management experience with business units of large public companies and privately held mid-sized businesses that manufactured products and supplied the automotive, chemicals, petrochemical, metals, building material, filtration and food and beverage industries.
Tiwari said he is looking forward to expanding the product line.
“The opportunity ahead for Xaloy is vast, but to seize it, we must focus clearly on what we do best — innovate and deliver — and continue to transform. A big part of my job is to accelerate our ability to bring innovative products to our customers,” Tiwari said.
The new CEO’s track record of transforming businesses in the industrial sector make him a “terrific” complement to the management team at Xaloy, Altair partner Andrew Brickman said.
“Kamal is a proven leader. His lean management and process-improvement skills, in concert with Xaloy’s long history of strong engineering and high-quality manufacturing position the company to execute a profitable growth strategy,” Brickman said. “Xaloy is a truly global business that will benefit from Kamal’s extensive international business experience in the manufacturing sector. His vision and leadership will be critical as the company enters its next chapter of expanded product innovation and growth.”
Some opportunities will be realized at the 194,000-square-foot screw and barrel factory in Austintown, which has large induction furnaces to make bimetallic barrels, company officials have said. Nordson opened the site in 2016 with plans to centralize Xaloy operations that had been in Youngstown, Ohio, and New Castle, Pa., along with Pulaski, Va.
The Pulaski site remains open.
In addition to the three manufacturing facilities, Xaloy has sales offices in Neckarsulm, Germany; Monza, Italy; Ahmedabad, India; Songjiang, China; and Tokyo, Japan.
Altair Investments invests in niche manufacturing companies in the lower middle market. Recent acquisitions include NVEyeTech and Marathon Boat Group.
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