Eckhart, a portfolio company of LFM Capital, has acquired Auto Craft Tool & Die and 3 D Sales (together “Auto Craft”). This is the first add-on acquisition for Eckhart since being acquired by LFM in June 2015.
Auto Craft is a provider of industrial material handling systems and tooling. The company’s products include door and instrument panel carriers, and automatic guided carts used to transport material in factory environments. Auto Craft also sells work brake systems that protect production line operators exposed to rotating assembly processes. Customers of the company include Boeing, Honda, Toyota, Johnson Controls, Carrier, Whirlpool, Nissan, Kawasaki, Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors. Auto Craft is co-owned by brothers Michael and David DuVernay – their father founded the company in 1958 – and is headquartered northeast of Detroit in Algonac, MI with an additional facility nearby in Marine City, MI (www.auto-craft.com). 3D Sales – which shares ownership with Auto Craft – is a distributor of industrial ergonomic and work cell construction components. The company is also based in Algonac, MI (www.threedsales.com).
Eckhart is a designer and manufacturer of specialized ergonomic tools that are sold to automotive and industrial manufacturers. According to Eckhart, ergonomically correct machinery enhances process reliability and results in improved worker performance, worker safety, and product quality. Eckhart’s products include custom-engineered lift assists, torque reaction devices, fixtures, inspection equipment and workstations. Customers include automotive and industrial original equipment manufacturers such as General Electric, Ford, Tesla, Faraday & Future, GM, John Deere, Bradford White and Caterpillar. The company is led by its President and CEO Andy Storm and operates from three company-owned facilities in Lansing, MI (www.eckhartusa.com).
“As manufacturers invest heavily in technology to increase product quality and achieve efficiencies in their factories, Auto Craft’s advanced material handling and tooling solutions will afford customers a one-stop, turn-key manufacturing systems supplier and eliminate the waste and overhead costs OEMs absorb coordinating with multiple vendors,” said Mr. Storm.
LFM Capital is based in Nashville and invests in US-based manufacturing and industrial services companies that have revenues from $10 million to $100 million and enterprise values from $15 million to $75 million. LFM was formed in May 2014 by Steve Cook, Executive Managing Director; Rick Reisner, Managing Director; and Dan Shockley, Managing Director. The firm closed its first fund, LFM Capital Partners, LP, with $110 million in capital commitments in October 2014 (www.lfmcapital.com).
“My brother Michael and I were looking for a strong business partner that would be a good steward of our family legacy and the families who will depend on the future success of the company going forward. We chose to partner with LFM Capital and the Eckhart team because of their direct knowledge and experience in our business, their operational focus on continuous process improvement best practices, and their overall commitment to our employees, customers, and American manufacturing,” said David DuVernay.
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