Premium Guard Acquires Fram and Champion Labs Production Assets

Top-tier filtration manufacturer and segment supplier Premium Guard Inc. (PGI) has finalized the corporate acquisition of First Brands Group’s Champion Laboratories assets alongside related manufacturing machinery from the legacy Fram production site in Greenville, Ohio. 

The industrial transition triggers the immediate reopening of the Albion, Illinois manufacturing plant, which ceased operations earlier this year, initially restoring nearly 200 technical and operational roles.

The consolidated manufacturing footprint marks a significant stabilization phase for the North American automotive aftermarket supply chain. Over the past decade, the shifting management of legacy brands like Fram and Champion Labs under previous corporate ownership structures created distribution friction and inventory shortages that reverberated across regional jobber counters.

“Our philosophy is different — we are a customer, team, and product-focused company,” stated Anan Bishara, CEO of PGI. 

“We’re proud to help bring jobs, R&D investment, and manufacturing back to a community that has played such an important role in the filtration industry for generations.” The updated Albion facility will function as a high-volume domestic manufacturing hub within PGI’s broader global production network spanning nine countries. 

This tier-one alignment drastically improves regional supply chain resilience, ensuring a stable and predictable flow of core light-duty and heavy-duty filtration SKUs without the lead-time volatility associated with overseas shipping channels.