Kraus Carpets Gets New Chief Executive

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, March 19, 2013 -- Steve Malinowski has been named president and CEO of the Kraus Group, which operated Kraus Carpets and Strudex Fibres.
 
Malinlowski has worked in the auto industry, and in wire and cable, lawn mowers and snowblowers, printed circuit boards, hog slaughtering and frozen foods.
 
“Every business has got its different aspects and nuances, but running a good business is the same no matter where you go,” said Malinowski, who bills himself partly as a turnaround specialist.
 
Founded in Kitchener in 1959 by Romanian immigrant Michael Kraus, the Kraus Group has faced hard times in recent years.
 
The global recession and housing crisis in the U.S. pushed the company deep into debt, prompting the departure of the founding Kraus family from the ownership ranks in 2012.
 
Hilco UK Ltd., a British private equity firm specializing in restructuring distressed businesses, purchased $130 million of the company’s debt from three secured lenders, then put Kraus into receivership until it could acquire all its assets.
 
According to Malinowski, Kraus has already turned the corner and is on the road back to prosperity.