VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 19, 2024 / Wildpack Beverage Inc. (TSXV:CANS) ("Wildpack Beverage" or the "Company") a leading middle market co-packer of canned goods announced that it has completed an operational leadership restructuring, appointed PGP Capital Advisors, LLC ("PGP") as financial advisor to the Company, and that Rael Nurick has resigned from the Board of Directors.
Operational Leadership Restructuring
Wildpack has completed restructuring its operational leadership team to provide higher levels of manufacturing expertise and focus on business alignment. The changes include:
Thomas Walker, Chief Growth Officer, has been promoted to running all day-to-day operations. He is focused on tactical business execution with an emphasis on aligning core business units with shared service divisions to achieve critical operational milestones. This enables the CEO to focus on overall company objectives, strategy, business prospects and building stakeholder value.
Tom Ewing has been hired to lead our manufacturing division, having just completed his 100-day initial plan. He is a 30-year co-packing veteran who has worked for the largest beverage co-packers in the world with recent direct experience in both Wildpack's size of operations, with successful experience scaling multiple co-pack facilities. He has been tasked with, and has already successfully completed rebuilding operational personnel teams and processes that can support the higher levels of utilization the Company is driving towards to achieve its operational targets.
Dan Wales has been promoted to Vice President of Shared Services, having successfully structured a team as Wildpack's Vice President of People and Culture. He is managing all divisions of Wildpack which support our core manufacturing and sales functions, allowing for a right-sized optimized management and personnel structure.
Elijah Clare has been promoted to Vice President of Brokering as this division has continued to grow independently, as well as support our co-pack and decorating business segments. It has historically been managed under Shared Services, but with the continued upside of the division, Wildpack has moved it to be managed as a stand-alone core business unit.
New plant managers at our co-packing sites, improved middle management restructuring across all operational divisions, and a high-powered product quality assurance team. This structure is a mirror of the successful beverage co-packers to which Mr. Ewing has built and led in the past.
"Emphasizing our focus and leadership on core aspects of our business is exactly what Wildpack needs to continue turning and scaling our business, and moving Mr. Walker to lead day-to-day operations allows for this focus. Further, it will allow me to focus on my strengths around strategy, business prospects and stakeholder engagement" said Mitch Barnard, Chief Executive Officer.
Appointment of PGP Capital Advisors, LLC Wildpack has engaged PGP to assist Management and the Board in assessing opportunities to maximize stakeholder value. The mandate is broad in nature and includes capital restructuring, financing, acquisitions, and dispositions. PGP has a strong track record of assisting mid-market growth businesses to unlock stakeholder value. The lead partner at PGP has worked with Wildpack since its inception with broad beverage experience at leading investment banks prior to joining PGP.
Resignation of Rael Nurick The Company and Mr. Nurick have mutually agreed that to avoid any potential conflicts it is in the best interest of Wildpack for him to resign from the Board of Directors. Sandton Capital Partners remains supportive of Wildpack as its main financing partner as it continues to grow and evolve.
Per: "Mitch Barnard"
Mitch Barnard Chief Executive Officer and Director
About Wildpack Beverage Wildpack Beverage provides beverage manufacturing and packaging to the middle market by providing sustainable aluminum can filling, decorating, packaging, brokering, sleeve/label printing services, and logistics to brands throughout the United States. Wildpack Beverage currently operates indirectly through its wholly owned subsidiaries and out of five facilities in Baltimore, Maryland; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Atlanta, Georgia; Sacramento, California; and Las Vegas, Nevada with a focus on digital innovation and green ready-to-drink packaging. Wildpack Beverage commenced trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "CANS" on May 19, 2021.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information This news release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including, but not limited to, Wildpack Beverage's plans, investments, availability of financing and the success of scaling up production. Forward-looking statements are based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive risks including but not limited to: risks related to the successful integration of acquisitions; risks related to operations; risks related to general economic conditions and credit availability, ability to obtain sufficient and suitable financing, actual results of current production and decorating, fluctuations in prices of aluminum; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes, title disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the co-packaging industry; delays in the completion of capex activities, changes in national and local government regulation of manufacturing operations and labour laws particularly in light of the COVID pandemic, tax rules and regulations, and political and economic developments where Wildpack Beverage operates. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "should", "will", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe", or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Wildpack Beverage to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements expressed or implied by Wildpack Beverage are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and conditions, many of which are outside of Wildpack Beverage's control, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Although Wildpack Beverage has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties related to Wildpack's business, including that Wildpack Beverage's assumptions in making forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect; adverse market conditions; risks inherent in the beverage manufacturing and packaging sector in general; that future results may vary from historical results; and competition in the markets where Wildpack Beverage operates. Except as required by securities law, Wildpack Beverage does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
