Thorpe Specialty Services, a portfolio company of KLH Capital, has acquired Walburn Industrial Services. KLH acquired Thorpe Specialty Services from the CapStreet Group in September 2022.
Thorpe provides refractory, corrosion, scaffolding, and insulation services to North American-based companies that utilize assets that operate in high-temperature, high-abrasive, and highly corrosive environments.
Many of Thorpe’s customers are active in the chemical, petrochemical, power, natural resources, pulp and paper, metals, and mining sectors. Thorpe, led by CEO Chad Fletcher, has more than 1,250 employees and is headquartered in Houston with additional branch locations across Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Western Canada.
Walburn provides specialty refractory services to companies that operate in the lime and cement, lightweight aggregate, iron and steel, and industrial mineral sectors.
The company’s core capabilities include shotcrete, gunite, and refractory brick. Shotcrete is a construction material composed of cement, aggregate, and water, that is pneumatically projected at high velocity onto a surface. Gunite, a type of shotcrete, is a dry mixture of cement and aggregate, typically sand, which is pneumatically sprayed onto a surface using compressed air. Refractory brick is designed to withstand high temperatures and harsh conditions and is used extensively in steelmaking, cement production, glass manufacturing, and petrochemical processing sectors.
Walburn, led by President Rong Walburn, is headquartered southwest of Birmingham in McCalla, Alabama. “We are excited to join the Thorpe team and believe this is the right next step for our family’s company and our people,” said Mr. Walburn. “This partnership provides us with the opportunity to further expand in our markets and with Thorpe’s existing operational infrastructure, we will be able to better serve our customers.”
“Thorpe’s acquisition of Walburn is an exciting next step for the business,” said James Darnell, a managing partner at KLH. “The combination of the Thorpe and Walburn not only bolsters the company’s presence in an attractive, growing market, but allows the consolidated business to further expand its variety of critical service offerings, ensuring all of the needs of its customers are met.”
With Thorpe’s buy of Walburn, the combined companies now have more than 1,300 employees located across five regional branches operating across the Gulf Coast, Southeast, Midwest, and Canada.
“This partnership brings together two exceptional refractory companies with common cultures and best-in-class customer service,” said Chad Fletcher, the CEO of Thorpe. “Wade and Rong Walburn have built a great company in our industry, their unique capabilities fit well strategically with our vision, and their reputation for delivering safe and high-quality craftsmanship match up perfectly with what we deliver to our customers every day. We are excited to welcome the Walburn’s, and their entire team, into our Thorpe family and we look forward to working with their team as we build something truly special here.”
KLH makes majority and minority investments in family- and founder-owned distribution, specialty services, and niche manufacturing companies that have EBITDA from $4 million to $20 million. KLH was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
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