FERNDALE, Mich. — Craig Capital, LLC, a private equity company has purchased the assets of Nalpac Enterprises and will continue to use its original name to maintain recognition in the industry.
“We are Nalpac and will operate as Nalpac,” Steve Craig told XBIZ. “The same people will be there to answer the phone, the team is all on board and are excited to receive the change and see the fresh ideas that we are bringing to the market. We’re lucky that Nalpac has a great management team.”
Andrew Craig, Steve Craig’s brother, will join Nalpac’s management team with the company’s longtime vice president of operations Glenn Le Boeuf continuing in his role. Craig said LeBoueuf is an integral part of the company, along with other members of the Nalpac team that will serve to guide the company’s modernization.
“We’re excited to be Midwest-based because we can cover a lot of ground and we’re able to utilize technology to reduce cost as well,” Craig said.
Nalpac will be relocating its offices and distribution center to new facilities in the Detroit area later this year. According to Craig, the new location will allow for the upgrading of the company’s operations and logistics, along with increased customer growth and the distributor’s future expansion.
The Craig brothers have a background in industrial manufacturing and distribution.
“We’re not Wall Street people, we’re not a hedge fund,” Craig said. ‘We invest our own capital and have other investors from time to time but we invest in companies primarily in the Midwest with growth opportunities. We look for companies that have a long history that perhaps haven’t adapted the way we think that they should according to today’s day and age.”
Craig told XBIZ that the company is gearing up for its annual open house planned for August. “It’s going to be bigger and better,” Craig said.
Ralph Caplan established Nalpac — which is “Caplan” spelled backwards — in 1971 as a distributor of smoking paraphernalia. When the federal government deemed those products illegal, Nalpac shifted to adult products, and today the company is regarded as one of the most respected distributors in the U.S.
Headquartered in Ferndale, Mich., Nalpac boasts a 100,000-square-foot warehouse and carries close to 20,000 items ranging from premium adult toys, lubes, bachelorette supplies, bed and bath products and gag gifts.
