Keswick Acquires Metal Tech

Keswick Partners has acquired Metal Tech in partnership with the company’s senior management team.

Metal Tech is an in-shop and on-site provider of machining, fabricating, welding, maintenance and repair services to companies operating in the pulp and paper, steel, chemicals, food and beverage, infrastructure, and general manufacturing industries.

Examples of the firm’s capabilities include anodized aluminum railings used in harsh environments, tools used to replace concrete mill liners, and stainless steel hoppers used in the food industry.

Metal Tech was founded by Ray Felton in 1984 and is based in Murfreesboro, North Carolina.

“We partnered with Keswick because of their experience with our kind of business,” said Brock Felton, the owner of Metal Tech and the son of the founder. “It’s good to work with someone who speaks our language and appreciates our culture. My father started Metal Tech, so finding the right partner for my managers was a critical decision for me.”

“We love supporting family-owned businesses like Metal Tech that have built scalable operations in industrial verticals we know,” said Chris Hart, a managing partner of Keswick. “Brock and his father built a great company thanks to the team they assembled and maintained. We look forward to continuing their legacy as Metal Tech enters its next phase of growth and development.”

Keswick Partners makes both majority and minority investments in United States-based lower middle-market companies that have from $2 million to $5 million of EBITDA. The firm’s sectors of interest include niche manufacturing, specialty services, and value-added distribution.

The buy of Metal Tech is Keswick’s second platform investment since the final closing of its $100 million debut fund in October 2022. In February 2022, the firm closed its first Fund I investment with the buy of Marrinan Group, a Rhode Island-based tech-enabled distributor of officially licensed collegiate, military, and professional sports merchandise sold through collegiate bookstores, off-campus stores, fan shops, online e-commerce channels, and military bases worldwide.

Keswick was formed in June 2022 by managing partners Chris Hart, John Kirtley, and Jeff Leck. All three founders are former senior professionals of Tampa, Florida-based KLH Capital. Prior to co-founding Keswick, Messrs. Kirtley and Leck co-founded KLH in 2005 and Florida Capital Partners in 1989; and Mr. Hart joined KLH in 2009 and became a partner of the firm in 2016.

Keswick has offices in Tampa, Florida (headquarters), and Charlotte, North Carolina.

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