PlayCore Continues Growth with New CEO

A new headquarters downtown. A new owner. And continued growth.

That's been the story at Chattanooga-based PlayCore, the nation's largest maker of playground equipment, under new President and CEO Roger Posacki.

Posacki, the former head of Elmer's Glue, took the of helm PlayCore in August 2016.

He replaced Bob Farnsworth, who started with the privately held company 19 years ago when it only had seven employees in the corporate office -- compared to about 105 now -- and two factories. Farnsworth helped build PlayCore into a behemoth with 26 brands of playground and aquatics equipment, site furnishings, indoor and outdoor fitness, and spectator seating.

Posacki didn't miss a beat. PlayCore has acquired six companies since the start of 2017.

In the summer, PlayCore took on higher visibility in its hometown, as it moved its headquarters from sharing an office building at 401 Chestnut St. to leasing the former FSG Bank building at 531 Broad St.

Then in October, a New York City-based private equity firm, Court Square Capital Partners, purchased PlayCore from another private equity firm, Sentinel Capital Partners.

So what does the change of ownership mean for PlayCore?

"To be quite candid, nothing's changing," Posacki says. "We're going to keep investing in core growth and acquisition growth going forward. There's a lot of opportunity for future growth."

PlayCore also employs about 350 Chattanooga-area people at a production plant in Fort Payne, Alabama.

"If anything, we'll look to expand our operations in Fort Payne," Posacki says. "It's our biggest facility."

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