Vantage Elevator Solutions, a portfolio company of Golden Gate Capital, has acquired Thames Valley Controls from Dewhurst plc.
Thames Valley Controls (TVC) is a supplier of elevator controls and monitoring systems to customers across the United Kingdom. The company’s products include controllers, remote monitoring systems, shaft position systems, communication devices, and displays. TVC was founded as the Thames Valley Lift Company in 1971 and today is led by Managing Director Richard Young with a headquarters near Liverpool in Flint, UK.
“The acquisition of TVC provides us with a robust growth platform in the attractive UK market and deepens our product portfolio and development capabilities in controls and remote monitoring products,” said Ron Cauchi, CEO of Vantage. “We are very impressed by TVC’s strong reputation for accessible technology, customized design solutions, and outstanding customer service.”
Golden Gate formed Vantage Elevator in September 2018 as an operating company to house its six business units: GAL Manufacturing (Bronx, NY), GAL Canada (Mississauga, ON), and Hollister-Whitney (Quincy, IL) – all three of these units were part of the original platform acquired in June 2017; Courion (St. Louis, MO) was acquired in January 2018; Bore-Max (El Monte, CA) was acquired in March 2018; and Elevator Controls ( Sacramento, CA) was acquired in June 2018.
In combination, these six units supply almost all electro-mechanical devices used in contemporary elevators system controllers; cab-lifting traction machines; closed-loop door operators and door equipment; in-car control panels and buttons; structural platforms; heavy-duty freight doors; hydraulic jacks and pump units; and safety devices. Vantage sells its products to thousands of independent elevator contractors and large, multi-national elevator OEMs. The company has approximately 1,000 employees and is headquartered in Bronx, NY (www.vantageelevation.com).
TVC was acquired by Dewhurst in 1994. “TVC has played an important part in the Dewhurst portfolio, but we believe that Vantage will give TVC greater opportunities to grow and prosper,” said Richard Dewhurst, the chairman of Dewhurst. “We have worked with Vantage on lift fixtures in North America and distribute some of their product ranges in Australia, so we have known their team for many years, and we believe that they will offer great potential for scale in the lift controller business going forward.”
Dewhurst is a maker of electrical components and control equipment used in the elevator, keypad and rail industries. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered near London in Feltham, UK (www.dewhurst.co.uk).
Golden Gate invests in companies across a range of industries and transaction types, including going-privates, corporate divestitures, recapitalizations, and public equity investments. Sectors of specific interest include software, semiconductors and IT hardware, consumer, industrials, IT and business services, and financial services. The firm has approximately $15 billion of capital under management and is based in San Francisco (www.goldengatecap.com).
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | September 24, 2019
