By Michael Lauzon
CORRESPONDENT
Published: August 16, 2013 4:18 pm ET

East TAUNTON, MASS. — Electrical connector firm Pancon Corp. has added plastics insert molding to its capabilities by acquiring Sunstone Components Group Inc.
Pancon of East Taunton, Mass., paid an undisclosed amount for Sunstone in a deal concluded Aug. 2, Pancon announced. Sunstone, a metal stamper and producer of insert molded parts, operates two plants in Temecula, Calif.
"Sunstone was primarily an insert molder with a high level of robotics for high-value, high-technology markets," said Mike Savage, Pancon vice president of marketing and sales, in a telephone interview.
"We wanted that in our organization," he added.
The purchase extended Pancon's manufacturing locations to five in the U.S. Other plants are in Bowling Brook, Ill., and Lynchburg, Va., said Savage.
Pancon also has a European business running two manufacturing plants in Germany and Slovenia.
Sunstone's insert molding capacity complements Pancon's conventional injection molding capability, according to Savage. Insert molding allows production of more complex, integrated connectors and modules, Savage said.
Some medical, telecommunication, transportation, industrial and consumer connector applications can't easily be made with regular injection molding, according to Savage.
Savage said Pancon will keep the Temecula plants open and no changes are planned there. The combined companies employ about 250.
The former Sunstone operations have been renamed Pancon MIE, a molding and assembly business, and Pancon S3, which performs metal stamping of connector pins, contacts and sensors.
Pancon is divided into three businesses: Ark-Les Connectors, which makes wire-end terminals and custom connectors in East Taunton; Pancon Connectors, which makes connectors and interconnect products in Bowling Brook; and Paktron, a producer of multilayer polypropylene film capacitors in Lynchburg. Pancron Connectors runs the European plants.
Sunstone did more automotive work than Pancon but both firms have been marketing to a range of industries requiring electrical and electronic components.
"The Sunstone acquisition expands Pancon's product offering and will allow us to design unique products for our customers," said Pancon CEO Mike Kirkman in an Aug. 12 news release.
Pancon owner Milestone Partners of Radnor, Pa., said the acquisition is a strategic add-on.
"Mike Kirkman and the Pancon management team are executing on their plan to build a diversified, global connector platform," said Milestone principal Geoffrey Veale in a news release. Pancon will seek other, complementary businesses to add to organic growth, he added.
Milestone is a private equity company that focuses on lower-middle-market, niche companies with high-margin products and services.