The investment strategy of the KD/P team, however, began to evolve from that of acquiring companies by means of ingenious financial structuring, implementing operational enhancements, and reselling businesses for capital gains. The new objective that was adopted in the mid-1980s emphasized buying companies to hold and operate for the long term. Along with this shift in strategy, a new partnership, J.B. Poindexter & Co., LP, was formed by KD/P's management team in 1985. The staff of the new organization was the same as that of the previous firm. The new partnership also retained most of the management responsibility for the companies purchased by KD/P Equities until they were sold. The capital gains realized by KD/P Equities provided the equity base for the new partnership.

J.B. Poindexter & Co., LP made a number of acquisitions, including Morgan Corporation, EFP Corporation, Leer, Inc., The Lowy Group, Traxxon, Inc., Magnetic Instruments Corporation, and others, almost all of which were operated very successfully. Morgan produces truck bodies, EFP is a fabricator of expandable foam plastic products, Leer (now a part of Truck Accessories Group) assembles and distributes pickup truck accessories, the Lowy Group manufactures and distributes flooring products, Traxxon was a distributor of flat rolled steel products, and Magnetic Instruments (now MIC Group) is a high precision machining concern. Aggregate revenues of the new acquisitions, again, were in the $500 million range.