BraunAbility investors say business to stay, grow

BraunAbility investors have met with employees and various members of the public to lay to rest some concerns about the acquisition.

On Sept. 23, it was announced that Patricia Industries is in the process of buying about 90 percent of the Braun Corporation shares. Patricia Industries is a division of Investor AB, a Sweden-based investment company.

BraunAbility President and CEO Nick Gutwein along with Patricia Industries CEO Börje Ekholm and Noah Walley, head of North American Investments for Patricia Industries, spent the day meeting with BraunAbility employees and the public on Oct. 8.

During the meeting, Ekholm and Walley talked about Investor AB and Patricia Industries and briefly about their families. Both are living in the U.S.

“We are very excited about the opportunities to grow this business and take what is clearly a strong business and make it even stronger,” Walley said.

Walley and Ekholm’s visit on Oct. 8 was the third time they have visited the BraunAbility facility.

“This is really the first time that we have been able to see the entire workforce. I think we are very excited to be involved. The more we get involved in the details of what the different opportunities in front of the company are, I think the more excited we get.”

Ekholm said both Patricia Industries and Investor AB are looking to grow the portfolio with new companies. He praised BraunAbility, when asked why Patricia Industries would want to invest in the company.

“Really what makes a difference is the culture. I think culture wins over strategy and everything, every day of the week,” Ekholm said. “What we were attracted with here was the focus on solely customer service. In this case providing mobility. To me, when you have a mission that strong and that’s so pervasive in the company, it’s a competitive advantage.”

He said there are numerous opportunities outside of the U.S. to provide mobility to the users. “We are just scratching the surface.”

When asked if the workforce and administration will remain the same, the response from Ekholm was BraunAbility already has a strong team.

“The way we like to run our companies, as owners we focus on doing what we know, which is being good owners of companies. We like to put the right boards in place and then have the board figure out the strategy and management,” Ekholm said.

Gutwein, Ekholm and Walley reiterated that BraunAbility was not for sale when approached by Patricia Industries.

“We weren’t looking but then we found someone we felt was a perfect fit. That if we said no now, we may miss the opportunity we have to have in the next 40 years,” Gutwein said.

Ekholm said future plans include growth.

“We think growth is important because it is valuable to the owners. As a matter of fact it is even more important because it makes a company stronger. It is easier to recruit people into the company that has growth,” he said.

Ekholm said the future plans include growth as a company, both in Winamac and possibly offshore.

“We are focused on doing the right things here. Now we want to ensure that we provide the right resources for BraunAbility to grow and develop. That’s our top priority right now,” Ekholm said.

Pulaski County Community Development Vice President Lawrence Loehmer said he thinks the investors’ outlook on business is “rare, compared to most Americans. You have a very different outlook and I think it is a very positive outlook. It’s very refreshing for myself to hear you talk about the value of other things other than the price tag.”

State representative Doug Gutwein was also in attendance and said this “is great for Pulaski County. They want growth and they obviously have the talent and the expertise to do that. They have shown that in the past with other companies they own and I don’t know why that would be any different. It sounds to me like business as usual.”

Pulaski County Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer believes the investors will offer new insights and guidance.

“The acquisition of BraunAbility by Investor AB’s Patricia Industries, though at first unsettling to all of us, offers the opportunity to brighten the future of the company and the community. The potential for new capital investment should mean not only the expediting of current new-product development, but greater agility for further innovation and implementation,” he said. “Finally, the great emphasis placed on talent development, as expressed by CEO Börje Ekholm, dovetails nicely with one of our primary emphases at the CDC, and I look forward to continued and expanded collaboration with BraunAbility as we seek to build an exceptional workforce in Pulaski County.”

Others in attendance included Pulaski County Commissioner Larry Brady, Winamac Town Councilwoman Judy Heater, Pulaski Memorial CEO Tom Berry Jr., Pulaski Memorial Hospital Chief Nursing Executive Linda Webb, Pulaski Memorial Hospital Chief Financial Officer Greg Malott, a representative from Congresswoman Jackie Walorski’s office and various news outlet representatives.

Pulaski County Journal

114 W. Main Street
Winamac, IN 46996

(574) 946-6628
 

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