Lubar & Co. announced it has invested in Milwaukee-based American Pasteurization Company (APC), a leading food processor that utilizes high-pressure processing (HPP) to make fresh foods safer, taste better and last longer.
HPP allows manufacturers and retailers to improve the safety and shelf life of products while providing consumers with food free of additives that can reduce taste and nutritional value. APC founder and CEO Justin Segel perfected the HPP process over the past several years, reducing costs to the point that it can now be widely accepted.
APC is the first company in the United States to offer HPP on a commercial tolling basis. HPP is a new process utilizing extremely high pressure to destroy food-borne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms without using high temperatures, chemicals or irradiation.
"We are pleased to be working with Justin Segel and the team at APC, and believe that the business shows great promise, particularly given the ever increasing importance of food safety throughout the world," said David Lubar. "We’ve followed APC’s progress for several years and believe it has the right management team and technology to positively impact the quality and safety of food in America."
Segel and Lubar saw an ideal match between the two companies, with the potential to collaborate on the vision for APC and continue building on the company’s success. APC needed additional capital to expand operations and sought an investment firm that actively supported management teams.
"Lubar & Co. shares our company’s vision and our desire to develop HPP into a widely used and valuable processing tool in the food industry," Segel said. "Lubar & Co. fit the mold for what we were seeking in an investment firm – a strong understanding of our strategic business model and short- and long-term goals, along with a successful track record of collaborating to support thriving companies."
For more than 40 years, Milwaukee-based private investment firm Lubar & Co. has applied a blend of “patient capital,” collaborative vision and commitment to management teams to build thriving companies.
