Monroe Truck Equipment, a portfolio company of Industrial Opportunity Partners, has acquired the assets of Towmaster, Inc.
Towmaster is a designer and manufacturer of low‐bed, heavy duty utility and industrial trailers and a manufacturer and upfitter of dump bodies and snow/ice removal equipment for trucks. Towmaster’s trailer division serves customers in the construction, landscaping, agricultural, and other end-markets 
with large equipment applications. The truck division is a supplier of truck dump bodies, snow removal and sanding equipment, mounts, hoists, and various other truck-equipment primarily to municipal customers. Towmaster ships to all 50 states including Alaska and Hawaii, as well as Canada and Mexico, and has even shipped trailers overseas. The company is based 65 miles west of Minneapolis in Litchfield, MN (www.towmaster.com).
Monroe Truck Equipment, acquired by IOP in February 2015, is a designer, manufacturer, distributor and installer/upfitter of specialized truck equipment for the municipal and commercial markets. Monroe specializes in snow and ice related equipment for heavy duty, medium duty and light duty vehicles. The company’s primary products include snow plows, hitches, and salt spreaders. Monroe is headquartered southwest of Madison in Monroe, WI and is led by President and CEO Dave Quade (www.monroetruck.com).
With the buy of Towmaster, Monroe will now have seven facilities as follows: Monroe, Marshfield and DePere, WI; Flint, MI; Joliet, IL; Louisville, KY; and Litchfield, MN. These seven facilities will employ about 800 and have a combined footprint of 550,000 square feet.
“The acquisition of Towmaster provides Monroe with both end-market and product diversification,” said Andy Weller, Chairman of Monroe and an Operating Principal of IOP. “We look forward to expanding Monroe’s Midwest footprint in the attractive Minnesota snow and ice market, while strategically extending Monroe’s product offering through Towmaster’s trailer division.”
IOP focuses on acquiring middle-market manufacturing and value-added distribution businesses, typically with revenues between $30 million and $350 million. The firm targets businesses with strong product, customer, and market positions and provides both management and operational resources to support sales growth and operational improvements. IOP was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Evanston (www.iopfund.com).
Rice & Associates (www.rice-assoc.com) was the financial advisor to Towmaster.
Freeport Financial provided financing for the acquisition and Winston & Strawn provided legal services to IOP and Monroe.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | April 6, 2017
