Case Study - Sentral
Sentral Group (Sentral) is a leading North American electronic manufacturing services (EMS) provider focused on the manufacture and distribution of wire harnesses, cable assemblies and box builds for customers in a diverse set of industries.
At the time of FHP’s acquisition of Sentral in 2008, Sentral was an unsophisticated, sub-$10M revenue, single location manufacturer of wire harnesses, cable assemblies and box builds to a limited number of customers located within 200 miles of its manufacturing facility in Illinois. FHP recognized the potential to aggressively build the business into a larger North American platform within the highly competitive EMS industry through both pragmatic acquisitions and focused organic growth initiatives.
During FHP’s investment period, Sentral completed five add-on acquisitions and opened an additional greenfield manufacturing facility in Mexico. This allowed Sentral to expand their footprint into both the Southeast and the Southwest markets and ultimately positioned Sentral as one of the leading EMS players in North America in their targeted markets.
Throughout their investment in Sentral, FHP worked closely with management to accelerate organic growth and scale operations by continuously investing in technology, people, equipment and systems to support centralized services, expanding relationships with key vendors and increasing sales and marketing initiatives to drive revenue growth with both existing and new customers.
Working together with management, FHP grew Sentral into one of the largest EMS companies in North America. Since FHP’s initial investment in 2008, revenue more than quadrupled.
Recognizing the company’s now leading market position, strong management team and continued organize and acquisition growth opportunities, a larger strategic company acquired Sentral from FHP in September 2016.