Industrials & Manufacturing

You want a smooth process in the design, manufacture, distribution, and sale of your products. When your productivity and profitability are impeded by litigation threats, such as a catastrophic event or a mission-critical business dispute, you need trial lawyers with on-point, cost-effective guidance. We have protected the interests of industrial and manufacturing clients for more than a century.

Litigation

You have done everything possible to ensure that your business will thrive. Still, disputes, legal conflicts, and other obstacles can come out of nowhere to impede your profitability and damage your brand’s reputation. Alston & Bird’s Industrials & Manufacturing Team helps clients survive and stay competitive through these storms. We represent clients throughout the industrial and manufacturing space, including operations in automotive, bricks and stone, building supplies, floor coverings, household appliances, lumber, packaging, pharmaceuticals, plastics, textiles, and more as they confront the myriad disputes that can arise and derail years or decades of hard work.

Our litigation team is a multidisciplinary collection of seasoned lawyers who bring together a cross section of professional experience. As courtroom advocates, we have achieved significant successes for our clients, but less visibly, we serve as informed counselors with big-picture perspectives that can help head off disputes and conflicts before they happen. Our deep bench of legal and professional talent gives us the ability to successfully defend your company’s interests in supply contract disputes, requirements contracts, joint venture agreements and disputes, environmental and property claims that may arise from manufacturing plant operations, workplace accidents and disasters, consumer product safety claims, alleged defects in materials or products, antitrust challenges, government and internal investigations, trade secret and intellectual property matters, and more.

Our lawyers have served as lead and primary counsel in complex, high-stakes litigation, including multidistrict litigation. When your company is threatened with a high-profile legal dispute, you need a team with a comprehensive understanding of your legal situation and public relations and crisis management strategies that can see you through. Alston & Bird delivers, protecting your company’s interests in and out of court.

Transactions

Companies in the industrials and manufacturing industry are the foundation of the products ultimately provided by a multitude of other businesses. The designated team at Alston & Bird understands the importance of your organization and knows how to structure and execute your M&A and capital-raising transactions to avoid the pitfalls that can delay or derail your goals. Our clients range from manufacturers and distributors of automotive components, building products, and paperboard packaging, among others, and include companies with operations on four continents. We believe in building long-term relationships so that we may learn your preferences and organizational structure to efficiently address your needs.

Our team is consistently recognized for client service and the volume of deal activity we advise on every day:

FactSet – Alston & Bird ranked in the top 15 for both “US Middle Market Announced Deals” and “US Announced Deals” and in the top 25 for “Global Announced Deals,” all based on number of deals in 2022.
GlobalData – Alston & Bird ranked #3 as construction M&A legal adviser, based on deal value through Q3 2022.
Refinitiv – Alston & Bird ranked in the top 10 as “Global Capital Markets Issuer Legal Advisor, US Equity & Equity Related,” based on number of deals in Q1 2022.
The Deal – Based on number of deals with a value of $100 million or more in 2022, Alston & Bird ranked in the top 25 as an “M&A Legal Adviser” and as a “Private Equity M&A Legal Adviser.”
U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” (2023) – Alston & Bird is ranked nationally in Tier 1 in the Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Securities/Capital Markets, and Securities Regulation Law categories.

Litigation

Defended a multinational automobile manufacturer in multiple putative class actions related to an alleged safety defect in panoramic sunroofs; serving as lead class action counsel in a case related to an alleged oil consumption defect.
Counsel for leading solar cell and module manufacturers responding to U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s enforcement actions arising from the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
Lead counsel for a foreign manufacturer in a high-profile Chinese drywall multidistrict litigation involving claims of product defects brought by more than 3,500 plaintiffs in 20 omnibus cases from various districts.
Lead counsel for an international automotive parts manufacturing company in an antitrust investigation and in automotive parts multidistrict litigation.
Primary counsel for a name-brand computer manufacturer in numerous litigation matters across the United States, including cases arising from the largest technology buyout in U.S. history.
Primary counsel for a leading textile manufacturer in numerous litigation matters, including securing a verdict worth $93 million in damages and fees against a component supplier for the sale of defective component goods used in our client’s manufacturing process. Awarded damages (affirmed on appeal) included replacement of defective goods, lost profits from the discontinuation of the affected product line, attorneys’ fees, and prejudgment interest.
Lead counsel for a pharmaceutical company, securing a jury verdict of $106 million in damages for violation of contractual exclusivity provisions and a permanent injunction blocking future violations.
National environmental counsel for the second-largest appliance manufacturer in the world, representing the company in environmental enforcement, litigation, and compliance matters in multiple states.
National counsel for a name-brand chemical manufacturer and its subsidiaries, handling a variety of toxic tort, asbestos, and environmental litigation matters nationwide.
Primary counsel for an international name-brand beverage company, defending multiple putative class actions asserting claims under consumer protection statutes, as well as defending claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act involving the client’s product distribution machines.
National counsel for a global producer and processor of industrial minerals in mass tort litigation involving allegations that talc contains asbestos. Coordinated a nationwide team of counsel and was responsible for all aspects of the case from discovery through trial, achieving significant results through strategic discovery, scientific evidence, and trial readiness.

Transactions

Represented an Italy-based global leader in the foodservice equipment industry in its $3.5 billion acquisition of a leading global supplier of commercial foodservice equipment and the related sale of a business segment to an affiliate of a global water treatment and solutions company for $1.6 billion.
Represented a private-equity-backed importer and distributor of stone in its acquisition of a California-based building materials distributor.
Represented a leading producer of automotive safety products in the United States with its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, that is traded on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stockholm, in the spinoff of its electronics business into a new, separate public company. This was an unprecedented transaction – the spinoff is the first U.S. spinoff to simultaneously list in both the United States and Sweden.
Represented a leading manufacturer and supplier of advanced electronic components in its $1.03 billion sale to a manufacturer of electronic equipment and components.
Represented a multinational building and construction materials manufacturer in several transactions, including the $2.15 billion sale of its North American building products businesses, its $1.8 billion acquisition of a building products company, and the $755 million sale of its North American fly ash business.
Represented a leading manufacturer and distributor of building products to professional homebuilders in its $450 million acquisition of a software solutions and services provider for the building products industry, and in the sale of its eastern U.S. gypsum distribution operations to a specialty building materials distributor.
Represented a leading technology company and innovation leader in advanced turbine engines in the $60 million sale of an 80.1% interest in the company to a leading national security solutions provider, with an option to acquire the remaining 19.9% at a future date.
Represented a leading provider of critical structural components and assemblies for the aerospace and defense industry in its sale to a private equity firm.
Represented a Sweden-based aluminum technology company in the $309 million acquisition of the aluminum rolling business of a North American integrated producer of aluminum products.
Represented a leading global provider of sustainable fiber-based packaging solutions in multiple public debt offerings with proceeds totaling more than $8 billion, and multiple primary and secondary offerings of common stock with aggregate proceeds of more than $2.5 billion. Also represented the company in its $280 million acquisition of a paperboard producer and its $85 million acquisition of the consumer packaging business from an industrial packaging products provider, among other transactions.
Represented a leading distributor of construction products in a public offering of common stock by its private equity sponsor with proceeds totaling $185 million. Also represented a wholly owned subsidiary of the distributor in its debut offering of $350 million of 4.625% senior notes.
Represented a leading global flooring manufacturer in its acquisition of a specialty flooring products manufacturer, its issuance and sale of $500 million of senior notes, and the issuance and sale of €500 million senior notes by the company’s wholly owned subsidiary that provides financing through the issuance of debt securities.
Represented an Illinois-based distributor of HVAC equipment and portfolio company of a middle market private equity investor in its acquisition by a leading distributor of home appliance, HVAC, and plumbing repair parts and equipment.
Represented a leading manufacturer of packaging production lines, including for pharmaceutical and food and beverage customers worldwide, in the sale of the company to a portfolio company of a private investment and holding company.
Represented a private equity firm in its growth investment in a Quebec-based provider of fleet management solutions to truck carriers.
Represented a Germany-based global manufacturer of high-quality transmissions and engines in its $400 million acquisition of a manufacturer of military engines and transmissions, and related businesses, from a U.S.-based defense contractor.
Represented a middle market private equity investor in multiple transactions related to its industrials focus area, including its acquisition and subsequent sale of a fleet maintenance company, its sale of another fleet maintenance provider, its majority recapitalization of a logistics company, the merger of its surface finishing portfolio company with a portfolio company of another private equity firm, and its acquisition and exit of a wholesale distributor of HVAC equipment.
Represented an Illinois-based third-party logistics provider backed by a PE firm in its acquisition of a California-based fulfillment services provider and in its acquisition of a Paris-based logistics company.
Represented a premier installer and distributor of interior building products in the $215 million sale of its residential design services segment to a portfolio company of Blackstone.
Represented a leading global performance-materials company in its $155 million acquisition of a company focused on the conversion of high-performance films and substrates.
Represented a private-equity-backed distributor of specialty building products across North America in its acquisition of substantially all the assets of several lumber companies.
Represented an automotive technology company in its underwritten public offering of $350 million of common stock. A portion of the common stock offered in the concurrent common stock offering may be delivered to a depository, which will then issue Swedish depository receipts (SDRs) to relevant non-U.S. person purchasers of the common stock that have requested receipt of SDRs.
Represented a portfolio company of a PE firm in its acquisition of a SaaS business specializing in the marine shipping industry.
Represented a private-equity-backed distributor of construction materials in multiple transactions, including its acquisitions of a Canada-based concrete products company and a Michigan-based wholesale distributor of civil site construction geosynthetic and landscape supplies.
Represented a U.S.-based manufacturer of commercial facade systems and residential doors and windows in its acquisition of a Canada-based manufacturer of curtain wall systems.

Highlights

                            Press Release
                                                    March 4, 2024
                        Alston & Bird Advises Graphic Packaging Holding Company on Its Sale of Augusta Paperboard Manufacturing Facility to Clearwater Paper Corporation
                    
                                Alston & Bird advised Graphic Packaging Holding Company on the sale of its bleached paperboard manufacturing facility in Augusta, Georgia, to Clearwater Paper Corporation. The transaction value is approximately $700 million.
                            