Cincinnati, Ohio

Kiwiplan Inc., based in Cincinnati, Ohio, with offices in Europe, Asia and New Zealand, has successfully completed a management buy-out from its Australian parent company, AMCOR Ltd. AMCOR recently decided to focus on its core business, paper and packaging, leaving Kiwiplan in search of new ownership.

"A wide range of companies, from software organizations to manufacturers of machinery, expressed an interest in Kiwiplan," said Bruce Howe, president and management team spokesperson for the company. "In all of those cases, Kiwiplan management's view was that our customers would be better served by the independent ownership of the company, thus avoiding the potential conflicts of interest and other issues relating to being involved with other businesses."

The company cites benefits of this new arrangement to include: increased flexibility in the direction of the business and the technology Kiwiplan uses; development of a management style that is compatible with customers' expectations about the way products are designed, built, delivered and supported; the adoption of a range of new technologies in the company's products and the greater investment in those technologies; and a decision-making style that is Kiwiplan-focused.