Salt Creek has acquired Cotta Transmission Company, a designer and manufacturer of gearboxes and transmissions.
Cotta’s products include high-speed transmissions, transfer cases, fan drives, rail products, speed reducers and increasers, pump drives, and custom gearboxes that are used in niche applications across a range of end markets including water well drilling, specialty truck, mining, industrial, and oil field services.
Cotta was founded in 1906 by Charles Cotta and operates a 63,000-square-foot facility in Beloit, Wisconsin.
“Partnering with Salt Creek will allow Cotta to continue delivering outstanding service while also pursuing multiple growth opportunities with existing and new customers,” said incoming CEO Alex Kummant. “We are very excited about the future of Cotta and believe our customers and employees will benefit greatly from this transaction.” Mr. Kummant has been a Salt Creek executive partner since 2020 and over his career has held senior executive positions at Spirit AeroSystems, Amtrak, Union Pacific, and Emerson Electric.
Earlier this month, Salt Creek closed on the buy of Broco Rankin, a California-headquartered manufacturer of tools and equipment for underwater cutting and welding, law enforcement and military tactical breaching. The company was founded in 1968 and is the market leader in underwater exothermic cutting and welding tools including torches, stingers, rods, and electrodes. The company’s exothermic cutting rods quickly cut or melt cast iron, steel, stainless steel, concrete, granite, nickel, titanium, aluminum, and exotic metals.
“Cotta is a terrific addition to our portfolio of niche businesses that are benefiting from the resurgence of domestic manufacturing driven by sustained reshoring trends,” said Seb Cervinka, a managing director at Salt Creek. “Our partnership with Cotta is a continuation of Salt Creek’s experience in the manufacturing sector, which includes investments in Endural (transportation cases), Diamond Nets (netting products), Griplock (cable suspension hardware), and Garrison (hydraulic cylinders). We look forward to working alongside Alex and the entire Cotta team to support the business in its next phase of growth.”
Salt Creek invests in North American-headquartered companies that have revenues of $5 million to $150 million. Sectors of interest include manufacturing, logistics, value-added distribution, B2B and B2C services, food and beverage, healthcare, retail, and hospitality. The firm is headquartered near Menlo Park in Woodside, California.
© 2023 Private Equity Professional | January 20, 2023