PLASKOLITE — Account Dossier

Why This Company

Fit:

• $740M PE-backed thermoplastics manufacturer (Pritzker Private Capital since 2018) with 18 plants across 6 countries, no CPO, no procurement technology beyond JD Edwards for basic POs, and fragmented operations from 4 acquisitions in 2 years (Plastics News; plaskolite.com)

Pain:

• Documented supply chain visibility failure: Their own 3PL partner's case study cites poor supply chain visibility from insufficient data gathering and increased complexity from multiple acquisitions — and two more acquisitions have since made the problem worse (odwlogistics.com)
• Massive unmanaged procurement complexity: 150+ custom polymer formulations requiring MMA monomer, impact modifiers, UV stabilizers, colorants, and specialty additives — sourced across 18 plants with zero spend analytics, zero sourcing automation, and zero tail spend management. Transportation spend alone is $40M/year (plaskolite.com/polymer; odwlogistics.com; Indeed)

Timing:

• CEO Gilbert (22 months in) is actively driving cost discipline — closing Massachusetts plant, reallocating $12M to Ohio capacity — while navigating significant tariff exposure: ~30-40% effective rate on Chinese-origin chemicals (down from 145% peak in April 2025 after Geneva agreement; extended through November 2026), 15% on Japanese resins (under July 2025 US-Japan agreement; Japan is a key MMA source via Mitsubishi Chemical), 25% on non-USMCA-compliant Mexico cross-border flows affecting two Plaskolite plants (Monterrey, Matamoros) — USMCA-compliant goods remain duty-free — plus antidumping investigations on acrylate monomers from South Korea and Taiwan. Gilbert has explicitly made supply chain agility a priority. PE year 7 under Pritzker — which raised a $3.4B new fund in August 2025 — typically accelerates efficiency mandates ahead of potential exit. Tariff rates are fluid — confirm current rates before prospect conversation. (Plastics News; China Briefing; PlasticsToday; US-Japan Agreement — Congress.gov; Federal Register, September 2025; BusinessWire, August 2025)

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Decision Makers

Michael Gilbert — President & CEO

Decision Maker

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michael-gilbert-0a462014
• Email: michael.gilbert@plaskolite.com (inferred — 81.4% of Plaskolite emails follow first.last@ pattern per RocketReach)
• Cares about:
  • Supply chain agility and tariff adaptation — reported making the company "more nimble" with shorter lead times and smaller order quantities in response to shifting tariffs (Plastics News, December 2024)
  • PE value creation as a structural discipline — his prior role at SK Capital Partners was Head of Portfolio Operations, coordinating operating executives to accelerate value creation across portfolio companies (SK Capital, March 2022)
• Why they matter: Ultimate decision maker whose SK Capital background means he natively understands procurement optimization as a margin lever — the value proposition needs no translation.

Connection Vectors:

• PE ecosystem: Gilbert's SK Capital background places him in the PE operating partner community where Simfoni leadership (Dent, Shah) presents at PEI events. Pritzker's Anish Sharan participates in these same forums. (Moderate — indirect through PE ownership layer)

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Francesco Incalza — Chief Financial Officer

Decision Maker / Budget Authority

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/francesco-incalza
• Email: francesco.incalza@plaskolite.com (inferred — same pattern; ZoomInfo shows f***@plaskolite.com)
• Cares about:
  • Operational transformation at speed — as President of Thermo King EMEA at Trane Technologies, drove €100M+ investment and 18 product launches in 2 years, stating "Our product development goals are now monthly rather than yearly" (Sustainable Truck & Van, November 2021)
  • Financial controls and audit rigor — CPA, certified auditor, Six Sigma Green Belt, former VP Chief Audit Executive at Trane Technologies (BusinessWire, May 2016)
• Why they matter: Holds budget authority for procurement tools in the absence of a CPO. Not a passive financial steward — he ran a major P&L as President of Thermo King EMEA and drove operational transformation at pace. He will evaluate both the cost case and the capability case simultaneously.

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Danny Butler — Director, Procurement

Champion

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danny-butler-68045847
• Email: daniel.butler@plaskolite.com (inferred — same pattern; ZoomInfo shows d***@plaskolite.com)
• Cares about:
  • Day-to-day procurement operations across 18 plants with no tools beyond JD Edwards for requisition-to-PO conversion (Indeed; ZoomInfo)
• Why they matter: The person living with the daily pain of managing procurement across 18 plants with no analytics, no sourcing tools, and no tail spend visibility. Natural champion who would drive evaluation and push adoption. Limited public profile — expect to learn his specific priorities through direct conversation.

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Marco Fiorucci — Managing Director, EMEA

Influencer / EMEA Stakeholder

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marco-fiorucci-22a4687
• Email: marco.fiorucci@plaskolite.com (inferred — same pattern)
• Cares about:
  • EMEA operational complexity — manages Israel, Bulgaria, Spain, and Chile operations acquired via the Plazit-Polygal deal, likely still running separate procurement processes (Plaskolite press release, October 2024)
  • Establishing his approach — ~4 months into role replacing a 39-year veteran; new leaders are most receptive to new tools in their first 6-12 months (Plaskolite press release)
• Why they matter: Any procurement consolidation must include EMEA. His newness creates a receptivity window.

Connection Vectors:

• Renaud Delcroix (Simfoni CRO) ↔ Fiorucci: Both are French Grande Ecole-educated European expats based in Spain in senior EMEA commercial leadership roles. Delcroix attended INSEEC (OMNES Education group); Fiorucci holds an ESCP MBA — both Conférence des Grandes Ecoles member institutions. Shared cultural identity, geography, and professional context. (Strong — best person-to-person warm outreach vector)

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Entry Strategy

Recommended Entry Point: Francesco Incalza (CFO)

Incalza holds budget authority in the absence of a CPO. His background makes him unusually receptive: he ran a major business unit as President of Thermo King EMEA with €100M+ in operational investment and has CPA/audit credentials that make him value spend visibility and data integrity (Sustainable Truck & Van; BusinessWire). He can evaluate the cost case and the operational case simultaneously — the conversation can start at a strategic level.

Potential Champion: Danny Butler (Director, Procurement)

Butler manages procurement operations across 18 plants using JD Edwards for basic POs (ZoomInfo). He is the natural champion who would drive internal evaluation and adoption. Any demo or proof-of-concept runs through his team. His limited public profile means the sales team should expect to learn his specific priorities through direct conversation.

Warm Path: Marco Fiorucci (MD EMEA) via Renaud Delcroix (Simfoni CRO). Both French Grande Ecole-educated, Spain-based EMEA commercial leaders — the strongest natural person-to-person connection. Fiorucci is ~4 months into his role, evaluating the EMEA operation he inherited from a 39-year veteran. Receptive timing for a capabilities conversation.

PE Acceleration Path: Simfoni leadership (Dent, Shah) has presented at PEI Operating Partners Forum events where Pritzker's Anish Sharan (Head of Digital Transformation) participates (BusinessWire, July 2022; PEI Operating Partners Forum). A top-down PE approach could accelerate the Plaskolite deal and unlock the portfolio multiplier: Americhem (10 plants, acquired Q1 2025), Technimark (11 global manufacturing sites, 3,400+ employees), PLZ (2,500+ products), and Aurorium (global specialty chemicals) are all under PPC's Manufactured Products team — with shared investment partners (David Gau, Thomas Chadwick) overseeing both Plaskolite and these sister companies (PPC Partners; PE Hub; Technimark).

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Key Context

• CEO's PE DNA: Gilbert's SK Capital role was Head of Portfolio Operations — he mandated procurement optimization for others' portfolios. He doesn't need education on why spend visibility matters; the conversation can be strategic from the first interaction. (SK Capital)
• Tariff specifics for the conversation (as of February 2026 — confirm before use): ~30-40% effective rate on Chinese-origin chemicals (MMA/acrylic polymers under tariff heading 3906.xx.xx; reduced from 145% peak after May 2025 Geneva agreement, 10% reciprocal rate extended through November 2026 plus 20% fentanyl tariff and sector-specific duties), 15% on Japanese resins under July 2025 US-Japan agreement (Japan is a key MMA source via Mitsubishi Chemical; Section 232 tariffs on steel/aluminum remain at 50%), 25% on non-USMCA-compliant Mexico flows only (two Plaskolite plants — USMCA-compliant goods remain duty-free; whether Plaskolite's cross-border flows qualify is a procurement data question Simfoni can help answer), plus antidumping investigations on acrylate monomers from South Korea and Taiwan (final phase scheduled, hearing January 2026). EU retaliatory tariffs also threaten EMEA operations on US-origin feedstocks. Industry expects 12-20% cost increases for US plastics manufacturers dependent on imported raw materials per the American Chemistry Council. (China Briefing; US-Japan Agreement — Congress.gov; PlasticsToday; Federal Register, September 2025; Sterling Plastics)
• Internal PPC-Plaskolite bond: CFO Incalza and PPC Operating Partner Dwight Gibson both spent extended senior-level tenures at Trane Technologies/Ingersoll Rand (Gibson: 12 years, Incalza: 20+ years) with significant overlap — they almost certainly have a prior working relationship. This contextualizes the PE-Plaskolite dynamic and may explain how Incalza was recruited. (BusinessWire, January 2024)

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Quick Reference

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