Strategic Adhesion: Bertram Capital Adds APPLIED to Portfolio
April 23, 2025|John McNulty
Bertram Capital has acquired a majority interest in APPLIED Adhesives, a distributor and formulator of industrial adhesive products, from Arsenal Capital Partners.
APPLIED Adhesives is a provider of a portfolio of adhesive technologies, including hot-melt adhesives, water-based adhesives, and structural adhesives, along with related specialty dispensing equipment and parts.
Source: APPLIED Adhesives
APPLIED also offers its customers equipment installation, maintenance, and integration services. Many of the company’s products are used in applications in the packaging, product assembly, paper converting, woodworking, and automotive sectors.
Arsenal Capital Partners acquired APPLIED in March 2021 from Goldner Hawn. Over the last four years, APPLIED completed 17 add-on acquisitions that added new territories, products, and technical capabilities. These acquisitions included Adhesive Solutions (April 2025), AutomationSupply365 (October 2024), McGinley Adhesives (August 2023), Heigl Adhesives (May 2023), Rochester Industrial Supply Company (October 2022), In-Line Finishing Solutions (September 2022), Engineered Adhesive Systems (July 2022), Axco Adhesive Systems (June 2022), Alliance Adhesives (May 2022), Prime Industries (April 2022), L & D Adhesives (February 2022), Bird Song Adhesives (December 2021), ADQ (October 2021), American Chemical (October 2021), Adhesive Systems Technology (June 2021), and Adhezion (May 2021).
APPLIED, led by CEO John Feriancek, was founded in 1971 by William Schreck and is headquartered near Minneapolis in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and operates regional facilities in California, Texas, and North Carolina.
“We are very excited to partner with Bertram as we continue to build on APPLIED Adhesives’ strong foundation,” said Mr. Feriancek. “Bertram’s experience within the industrial distribution sector and the shared vision in the value creation strategy differentiated Bertram in the sale process. We look forward to leveraging Bertram’s operating capabilities, including the Bertram Labs team, to continue to accelerate growth.”
“APPLIED Adhesives has established itself as a leading partner to both customers and manufacturers in the specialty adhesives product category,” said Kevin Yamashita, a partner at Bertram Capital. “The company’s strong customer relationships, technical capabilities, and proven M&A playbook provide an ideal foundation for continued growth, both organically and through strategic acquisitions. We intend to leverage the capabilities of our in-house technology team, Bertram Labs, to find opportunities to drive revenue growth, support M&A integration and improve business efficiencies.”
Bertram Capital invests in middle-market companies across the business services, consumer, industrial, and manufacturing sectors. The firm’s flagship fund makes control investments in lower middle-market companies with at least $7.5 million in EBITDA, while Bertram’s Ignite Fund makes both control and non-control investments in under-optimized companies with a minimum of $3.5 million in EBITDA. The firm was founded in 2006 and is headquartered near San Francisco in Foster City, California.
The buy of APPLIED is the third platform investment made by Bertram’s fifth flagship fund, following the acquisition of Perimeter Solutions Group (PSG), a Florida-based provider of commercial and industrial permanent and rental fencing, automated gates, and access control services, in October 2024; and MSE Supplies, an Arizona-based provider of materials, laboratory equipment, and supplies in September 2024. Bertram’s fifth fund closed above its target in January 2024, with $1.5 billion in commitments.
“We are incredibly proud of what the APPLIED Adhesives team has accomplished during our partnership,” said Roy Seroussi, an investment partner at Arsenal. “Under John Feriancek’s leadership, APPLIED has nearly tripled sales, executed and integrated a series of strategic acquisitions, and meaningfully strengthened its value proposition and market reach. The team’s focus and execution have firmly established APPLIED as a leading innovator in the value-added distribution market. We are grateful to the entire APPLIED organization for its dedication in driving this successful outcome.”
Arsenal Capital Partners, headquartered in New York, invests in middle-market specialty industrial and healthcare companies that have $100 million to $500 million of enterprise value. Arsenal is an active investor in the coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers sector, with current investments in ATP Tapes, Fenzi Group, Meridian Adhesives Group, Polycorp, and Polytek.
Since its founding in 2000, Arsenal has raised total capital of $10 billion, closed more than 300 platform and add-on acquisitions, and exited more than 36 portfolio companies.
Houlihan Lokey (HL) was the financial advisor to APPLIED on this transaction. The HL transaction team was led by Reed Anderson, Tony Meixelsperger, and Ben Blohm.
Bertram Capital has acquired a majority interest in APPLIED Adhesives, a distributor and formulator of industrial adhesive products, from Arsenal Capital Partners.
“APPLIED Adhesives has established itself as a leading partner to both customers and manufacturers in the specialty adhesives product category,” said Kevin Yamashita, a partner at Bertram Capital. “The company’s strong customer relationships, technical capabilities, and proven M&A playbook provide an ideal foundation for continued growth, both organically and through strategic acquisitions. We intend to leverage the capabilities of our in-house technology team, Bertram Labs, to find opportunities to drive revenue growth, support M&A integration and improve business efficiencies.”
“We are incredibly proud of what the APPLIED Adhesives team has accomplished during our partnership,” said Roy Seroussi, an investment partner at Arsenal. “Under John Feriancek’s leadership, APPLIED has nearly tripled sales, executed and integrated a series of strategic acquisitions, and meaningfully strengthened its value proposition and market reach. The team’s focus and execution have firmly established APPLIED as a leading innovator in the value-added distribution market. We are grateful to the entire APPLIED organization for its dedication in driving this successful outcome.”
