HCI Equity Partners has sold a controlling equity interest in Curtis Metal Finishing Group to Primat Group.
Curtis Metal is a provider of protective coating, pre-treatment, and heat treatment services for metal fasteners and other small metal components used in automotive, construction, military, appliance, and aerospace applications.
According to the company, it is the largest full-service automotive fastener coating applicator in North America and provides protective coatings to all major automotive OEM’s and Tier 1 component suppliers, crossing virtually all vehicle platforms.
Curtis Metal, led by CEO Jeff Wilson, was founded in 1927 and is headquartered near Detroit in Sterling Heights, Michigan, and operates a second facility near Rockford in Machesney Park, Illinois.
HCI will maintain a minority interest in Curtis Metal in partnership with Primat Group and Mr. Wilson will continue as CEO. HCI first invested in Curtis Metal in 2015.
Primat Group, headquartered north of Milan in Olginate, Italy, is a provider of protective coating services for fasteners and small components used the automotive sector and other industries. The group’s major end-consumers include Audi/Volkswagen, Daimler/Mercedes, Renault/Peugeot, Continental, Caterpillar, BMW, Ford, GM, Opel, MAN, and Volvo Trucks.
The operations of Primat Group include three Italy-based companies – Primat Spa (founded in 1972), IEB (acquired in 2015), and Zincatura Reggiana (acquired in 2017); and Brazil-based Prosdac Revestimentos Técnicos (acquired in 2022).
Primat’s investment in Curtis Metal provides the company with a North American footprint that establishes the combined company as a global provider of fastener coating services for the automotive industry.
“Primat’s investment in Curtis Metal creates the most technologically advanced fastener coaters supplier in the automotive industry,” said Dan Dickinson, a managing partner of HCI. “Combining Primat’s best practices with Curtis’ location in the heart of the US automotive hub will result in delivering the highest standards of quality for its customers.”
HCI invests in companies that have from $20 million to $200 million in annual revenue and $3 million to $25 million in EBITDA. Sectors of interest include value-added distribution, outsourced manufacturing, business-to-business services, and niche manufacturing. The Washington DC-headquartered firm was co-founded in 2003 by its managing partners Dan Dickinson and Doug McCormick.
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