PALM BAY, FL -- Key Principal Partners has invested an undisclosed amount of additional capital in EMS firm MC Assembly, giving the private-equity division a majority stake in the company.

MC Assembly topped $200 million in sales last year, but has struggled against competition overseas. The company reportedly laid off 92 workers last June, and 52 workers the year before, when when the firm consolidated five buildings into one. In 2003, Key Principal Partners provided $11 million in capital, in partnership with Cleveland-based Candlewood Partners, to help fund an employee stock ownership plan at MC Assembly. These funds were used to purchase a significant minority position from the existing company owners.

MC Assembly was founded in 1984 and employs about 800 workers in Palm Bay. It also has a factory in Mexico.