conveyor belts

Incline Completes Another MIR Add-on

by

Midwest Industrial Rubber (MIR), a portfolio company of Incline Equity Partners, has acquired VanCon, Inc. MIR has been a portfolio company of Incline Equity since December 2016.

VanCon is a distributor of conveyor belting for the food, paper, industrial and automotive industries. The company is based near Detroit in Dexter, MI.

“We are very happy to become the latest company to join MIR. We can now expand our capabilities to our customers in the region with access to the wealth of manufacturing and expert resources that MIR has to offer,” said VanCon President Kerry McConnell.

Midwest Industrial Rubber (MIR) is a supplier of industrial maintenance, repair, and operations products, specializing in the fabrication and distribution of lightweight conveyor belting and related conveyor components and accessories. The company serves the conveyor maintenance, replacement, and overhaul needs of approximately 2,500 customers that are active in the manufacturing of non-discretionary consumer staples (such as food, personal care and hygiene products). MIR was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in St. Louis (www.mir-belting.com).

“This acquisition expands our geographical footprint into the Michigan region and our capabilities in the automotive end market,” said Brian McSharry, CEO of MIR. “This supports our strategy of delivering superior service through proximity to our customers.”

The buy of VanCon is the third add-on acquisition MIR has completed in the past four months. In May 2018, MIR acquired Berlin, CT-based New England Belting Company, a provider of specialty belts including edge belts, wave solder belts, timing belts and vacuum belts; and in March 2018 it acquired Maple Grove, MN-based Conveyor Belting Supply, a fabricator and distributor of light weight conveyor belting and accessories to the Minnesota and Dakotas markets.

“We are thrilled to complete our third acquisition at MIR in a short period of time,” said Jack Glover, Partner with Incline. “Growth through acquisition is an important component of our strategy. We are continually looking for companies that expand MIR’s geographic footprint, add product lines or open the door to new end markets.”

Incline Equity Partners invests from $15 million to $30 million in support of recapitalizations, buyouts and corporate divestitures of lower middle market companies that have EBITDAs greater than $5 million and enterprise values between $50 million and $300 million. Sectors of interest include value-added distribution, specialized light manufacturing, and business and industrial services.  Incline was formed in 2011 and is based in Pittsburgh (www.inclineequity.com).

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | June 22, 2018

Incline Adds to Midwest Industrial Rubber

by

Midwest Industrial Rubber, a portfolio company of Incline Equity Partners, has acquired Conveyor Belting Supply.

Conveyor Belting Supply (CBS), is a fabricator and distributor of lightweight conveyor belting and accessories to the Minnesota and Dakotas markets. The company was established by Jim Roufs and John Engfer in 2005 and is headquartered near Minneapolis in Maple Grove, MN.

Midwest Industrial Rubber (MIR) is a supplier of industrial maintenance, repair, and operations products, specializing in the fabrication and distribution of lightweight conveyor belting and related conveyor components and accessories. The company serves the conveyor maintenance, replacement, and overhaul needs of approximately 2,500 customers that are active in the manufacturing of non-discretionary consumer staples (such as food, personal care and hygiene products).

MIR, led by CEO Mike Bruhn, was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in St. Louis (www.mir-belting.com). MIR has been a portfolio company of Incline Equity since December 2016.

The buy of CBS gives MIR an anchor for expansion into Minnesota and the Dakotas, two areas that were underserved by MIR. The company plans to continue utilizing this strategy for growth into underserved geographies. “The lightweight belting supplier market is extremely fragmented and has a lot of companies with similar profiles to CBS. We plan to continue partnering with these companies to grow MIR,” said Justin Bertram, a Partner with Incline.

Incline Equity Partners invests from $15 million to $30 million in support of recapitalizations, buyouts and corporate divestitures of lower middle market companies that have EBITDAs greater than $5 million and enterprise values between $50 million and $200 million. Sectors of interest include value-added distribution, specialized light manufacturing, and business and industrial services.  Incline was formed in 2011 and is based in Pittsburgh (www.inclineequity.com).

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | March 16, 2018

Industrial Growth Exits Cambridge

by

Industrial Growth Partners (IGP) has sold Cambridge International to Rexnord Corp. at a total transaction value of $210 million. This transaction closed on June 1, 2016.

Cambridge, acquired in April 2012 by IGP, manufactures woven metal products used in conveyor applications for companies that operate in the food processing, packaging, filtration, and industrial sectors. The company’s woven metal mesh products are also used in architectural applications. In November 2014, Cambridge acquired Vace Internacional, a provider of woven metal mesh belting to companies operating in the Mexican and Latin American food processing and industrial markets. Cambridge is led by Tracy Tyler, President and CEO, and is headquartered in Cambridge, MD (www.cambridge-intl.com).

“Industrial Growth Partners thinks and acts like operators, not just investors, and encouraged us to aggressively pursue a program of strategic investments not only to ensure the long-term success of our business, but also to ensure that the core values that have been synonymous with Cambridge for over 100 years remained intact,” said Mr. Tyler.

Industrial Growth Partners provides equity capital to lower-middle market manufacturing and manufacturing services companies with revenues of $30 million to $100 million. The firm invests in management buyouts, leveraged buyouts, corporate divestitures, recapitalizations and management buy-ins. IGP was founded in 1997 and is based in San Francisco (www.igpequity.com).

Rexnord is comprised of two operating divisions; Process & Motion Control which designs, manufactures, markets and services highly-engineered mechanical components used within complex systems; and Water Management which designs, manufactures and markets products that provide for water quality, safety, flow control and conservation. Rexnord has approximately 7,700 employees and is headquartered in Milwaukee (www.rexnord.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 6-10-16