Q Research Solutions, a portfolio company of KLH Capital since October 2016, has merged with Tragon Corporation to form one of the largest sensory and consumer products research companies in the US. KLH Capital is maintaining an equity interest in the merged company.
Q Research provides sensory and consumer product research for Fortune 500 and other blue-chip customers in the food and beverage, health and beauty, and fragrance industries.
The company, headquartered 35 miles south of New York City in Old Bridge, NJ, was founded in 1992 and employs 48 marketing, sensory, and consumer research professionals (www.qrsglobal.com).
Tragon has been a leader in sensory evaluation since its founding in 1974 and has pioneered many of the sensory methodologies considered industry standards today. Tragon employs 37 scientists, technologists, and marketing specialists and has testing facilities in California and Chicago. The company is headquartered south of San Francisco in Redwood Shores, CA (www.tragon.com).
The merged company is currently doing business as QRS-Tragon and has 85 employees across facilities in California, Chicago, and New Jersey. “We are excited to support the merger of two exceptional research companies as they combine complementary services, talents, and values to create a new industry leader with a national footprint,” said James Darnell, a Partner with KLH Capital.
KLH Capital is a SBIC-licensed private equity firm that invests in niche manufacturing, value added distribution and specialty service companies with revenues of at least $10 million and EBITDA of at least $2 million. The firm is headquartered in Tampa (www.klhcapital.com).
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | September 11, 2017
