Matrix Adhesives Makes Its First Deal Stick

Matrix Adhesives Group, a portfolio company of TruArc Partners, has acquired IPS Adhesives from IPS Corporation.

IPS Adhesives makes high-performance adhesives — the industrial glues that hold manufactured products together — for the building and construction, transportation, industrial, and marine industries. The company has specific expertise in methyl methacrylate (MMA) adhesives, a class of structural glue valued because it cures quickly, needs little surface preparation, and can bond dissimilar materials such as metal to plastic.

The acquisition of IPS brings five established brands to Matrix — Integra Adhesives, SCIGRIP Adhesives, Arjay, Weld-On, and Unika — and broadens the platform’s reach into the industrial durables, marine, building and construction, and sign and display markets.

IPS Adhesives operates three manufacturing facilities, one each in Durham, North Carolina; British Columbia; and Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. IPS Adhesives is led by President Scott McDowell, who will remain with the business as part of the Matrix leadership team.

“Joining Matrix represents an exciting milestone for the IPS Adhesives team. Our associates have worked tirelessly to create a company that is widely recognized for its broad suite of products, trusted brands, and passion for solving our customers’ toughest bonding challenges. Becoming part of the Matrix family will allow us to preserve our strong market position in MMA solutions, while gaining the scale, resources, and global platform to support our growth plans. I couldn’t be more excited about what this partnership means for our customers, our team, and our future,” said Mr. McDowell.

Matrix makes adhesives and sealants that are sold through the contractor, industrial, OEM, distributor, retail, consumer, and DIY channels. Specific products include thread lockers, epoxy adhesives, dielectric lubricants, high-temperature silicones, and hybrid adhesives used in construction, automotive, and electrical applications.Company-owned brands include NuFlex Pro, NuFlex Sealants, EverStrong Adhesives, EverHold Adhesives, and Chembon Universal. Matrix also sells wallcovering adhesives, primers, and removers through Roman Products, and firestopping materials — used to seal building penetrations and slow the spread of fire and smoke — through Self-Seal. In addition, Matrix provides private-label manufacturing services allowing customers to sell products under their own brands.

Goldner Hawn partnered with industry veteran Dan Horner in June 2021 to form Matrix and acquire Guy Chemical (June 2021) and Nuco (June 2021). Subsequent add-on acquisitions included Lohnpack (March 2022), Adaseal International (April 2022), NewStar Adhesives (September 2023), and Roman Products (January 2025). Westerville, Ohio-headquartered Matrix is led by chief executive officer Dennis Johnson and operates five additional manufacturing facilities in the United States and one in Canada.The purchase of IPS Adhesives is Matrix’s first acquisition since being acquired by TruArc in March 2026 from Goldner Hawn. The acquisition adds the acquired brands and technologies to the platform and expands Matrix’s international presence through IPS Adhesives’ European footprint, distributor network, and customer relationships.

“This strategic partnership enhances our ability to deliver differentiated, value-added solutions to our customers. We are pleased to welcome the IPS Adhesives team to the Matrix family of ‘passionate people creating bonds’ and truly appreciate TruArc’s strong commitment to our shared growth ambitions,” said Mr. Johnson.

IPS Corporation, the seller of IPS Adhesives, operates through three divisions: Weld-On Adhesives, IPS Diversified Products, and IPS Adhesives. The Compton, California-headquartered company manufactures solvent cements, rough plumbing and roofing products, and structural and surfacing adhesives that are sold under the brands Weld-On, Christy’s, Water-Tite, Studor, and SCIGRIP.

IPS Corporation has changed hands several times over the past decade. Nautic Partners acquired IPS in 2015 and sold it in 2017 to Cypress Performance Group, an industrial holding company founded by former Danaher chief executive George Sherman. Centerbridge Partners acquired the company from Cypress in October 2021. The sale of the IPS Adhesives unit to Matrix carves the structural and surfacing adhesives operation out of that Centerbridge-owned portfolio.

“We are very pleased to welcome the IPSA team into the Matrix family as we believe this acquisition strengthens the company’s capability to deliver differentiated solutions to customers in its core markets in North America and abroad,” said Rich Rowe, an operating partner at TruArc.

IPS Adhesives’ specialty sits in one of the faster-growing pockets of the adhesives market. Global demand for methyl methacrylate adhesives ran between roughly $1.6 billion and $2.0 billion in 2026 across industry estimates, with forecasts calling for growth of 7% to 8.7% a year over the following decade. North America holds close to 38.5% of the market, according to industry researchers, supported by heavy automotive and construction use. The underlying driver is a shift away from mechanical fasteners toward structural bonding: MMA chemistry cures quickly, needs little surface preparation, and joins dissimilar materials such as metal to plastic, letting manufacturers cut weight, assembly time, and cost. Transportation, marine, and building applications — the markets IPS Adhesives serves — are among the biggest beneficiaries of that shift.

The thesis for TruArc is straightforward buy-and-build. IPS Adhesives is the first bolt-on since TruArc backed Matrix in March 2026, and it adds specification-driven MMA technology, five established brands, and a European base that Matrix lacked. Those pieces broaden a platform that had been weighted toward North American formulating and contract packaging, giving it a proprietary structural-adhesives line to sell into faster-growing transportation, marine, and construction end markets. With Scott McDowell staying on and the acquired brands intact, the plan is to fold IPS Adhesives’ technical capabilities into Matrix’s scale and distribution while continuing to consolidate a fragmented specialty-adhesives market through further acquisitions.

“This acquisition represents an important milestone in Matrix’s growth strategy and provides Matrix with the ability to further expand its portfolio of branded products, advanced adhesive technologies, and global market reach. We look forward to supporting the Matrix team as they integrate IPS Adhesives’ highly complementary capabilities and continue building a high-quality specialty adhesives platform,” said John Pless, a co-managing partner at TruArc.

TruArc Partners is a private equity firm focused on middle-market investments in specialty manufacturing and business services. The firm works with its operating partners and portfolio management teams to build value through organic and acquisition-driven growth.

Chemlink Partners was the financial advisor to Matrix and BMO Capital Markets was the financial advisor to IPS.