This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
For well over 30 years, Dan Huish worked to build his company into the largest manufacturer of private label laundry detergents and fabric softeners in North America.
But now, things are changing at the Salt Lake City-based Huish Detergents Inc., which generates annual sales of approximately $1 billion.
Huish has agreed to sell controlling interest in his company to Vestar Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm that since its founding in 1988 has held interests in 55 companies with a total value of over $20 billion.
"They [Vestar] came to us and their timing and offer was just right," Huish said, indicating that he will hold less than a 10 percent interest in the company once the sale is completed within the next five to six weeks. "I'll still remain with the company, though, and I'll still continue to run it."
Huish said the company's 2,300 employees, who work at plants in Utah, Tennessee, Kentucky and Texas will be unaffected by the sale. "Vestar's intentions are to position the company for the continued growth."
Vestar President Jim Kelly said Huish Detergents has a promising future - the result of its strong customer relationships and product quality.
"Dan Huish was really a man ahead of his times," Kelly said. "He recognized early on that a lot of the growth in the retail industry would be moving toward the membership warehouse stores - the Sam's Clubs and the Costcos."
And Huish positioned his company to take advantage of those new product distribution channels, Kelly said. "He created products that could be sold at a lower price than the name-brands, but they were every bit as good."
Along with manufacturing private label detergents for Costco and Sam's Club, Huish also makes detergents for Kroger, Smith's and Albertson's and sells its own Sun Detergent and Sun Fabric Softener brands.
Huish started his company while he was still in college, and one of his pieces of equipment was a cement mixer used to churn the detergent.
Evan Frampton, who went to work for the company 28 years ago, said he always was awed by Huish's determination to grow the business.
"Years ago, when the company was still tiny he started contacting companies like Colgate and Lever Brothers asking if they needed someone to co-package their products for them," said Frampton, who now is a senior vice president at Huish Detergents. "And before long we had Lever Brother's business."
Frampton said over the year the company's co-packaged and produced product for many big name companies, including Colgate.
"Dan started out with a cement mixer and an idea," Frampton said. "He always believed that if someone out there could make a product he could make it for a lower cost and of a better quality."
Frampton said most of the executives at Huish Detergent have been with the company between 15 years and 25 years: "That is because Dan was always such a great guy to work for."
Huish said private equity firms such as Vestar Capital, which generally acquires businesses valued between $100 million and $5 billion, typically purchase companies with strong profit margins and a proven track record.
He anticipates Vestar will hold Huish Detergents for five to eight years.
"Their goal," Huish said, "is to grow the companies they buy before selling them."