Pioneer Metal Finishing, a portfolio company of Aterian Investment Partners since August 2018, has acquired Pilkington Metal Finishing.
Pioneer Metal is a provider of outsourced anodizing, plating, hardcoat, adhesive, electroless nickel, and other surface treating services. The company has approximately 3,500 customers that are active in numerous end markets including, among others, general industrial, automotive, aerospace, and food & beverage.
Pioneer Metal operates seven facilities across the United States in Michigan (3), Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oregon, Indiana, and one facility in El Marques, Mexico. The company, led by CEO Kevin Stevick, was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Like Pioneer, Pilkington is a provider of metal finishing services – including anodizing, powder coating, wet coating, and non-destructive testing – to companies operating in the aerospace & defense, medical devices, general industrial, and consumer goods sectors. Pilkington, founded in 1981 by Van Pilkington – he was joined at the company by his brother David Pilkington in 1990 – has more than 220 employees and operates from a 100,000 sq. ft. manufacturing and headquarters facility in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“We feel right at home with the Pioneer team, who really understand the metal finishing business,” said Van and David Pilkington in a released statement. “We are highly complementary of the folks at Pioneer and Aterian, who have been welcoming, transparent and straightforward throughout this entire process. Working together we’re fully enabled to meet the growing demand for metal finishing services here in the West.”
The acquisition of Pilkington by Pioneer represents a continuation of Pioneer’s strategy of acquiring metal finishing businesses across North America and provides the company with additional penetration into the aerospace & defense and medical end markets. “It is great to be partnering with the Pilkington family. They have a great business that builds upon our strategy to acquire metal finishing businesses across North America,” said Daniel Krasnow, a vice president at Aterian.
Aterian invests up to $50 million in small-to-middle market businesses with $25 million to $500 million in revenues that are underperforming, turnarounds or otherwise unique situations. Aterian held a final closing of Aterian Investment Partners III LP with $350 million of committed capital in July 2018. Aterian’s earlier fund closed in December 2013 with $257 million of capital commitments. The firm was founded in 2009 by Brandon Bethea, Michael Fieldstone and Christopher Thomas and is based in New York City.
© 2020 Private Equity Professional | January 29, 2020
Valence Surface Technologies, a portfolio company of Trive Capital, has acquired Triumph Processing Inc., a provider of metal finishing services to the aerospace and defense industries, from Triumph Group.
“We believe this acquisition further develops the core investment thesis of Valence, which is to build a differentiated, supply chain solution to the aerospace industry for surface treatment technologies,” said David Stinnett, a Partner at Trive Capital. “As aircraft build rate increases continue to put pressure on the market, the company seeks to reduce cycle times, minimize supply chain complexity and provide a single point of accountability across regions and approval requirements in partnership with OEM’s and machine shop customers for mission-critical parts.”
Trive invests from $10 million to $150 million of debt or equity in North America-headquartered companies with revenues of $40 million to $1 billion. The firm is industry-agnostic but has specific experience in the following sectors: aerospace and defense, automotive, building products, business services, chemicals, construction and infrastructure, consumer goods, energy services, food and beverage, healthcare, plastics and packaging, and transportation and logistics.
Avem Partners has acquired Future Tech Metals, a provider of metal finishing services, from co-owners Tim Gearhardt and Art Medina. True West Capital Partners provided both debt and equity capital in support of this acquisition.
Avem Partners invests from $10 million to $25 million of equity in lower middle-market aerospace and industrial companies that have revenues from $10 million to $100 million and EBITDA of at least $2 million. The firm was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Los Angeles (
True West Capital Partners invests from $5 million to $25 million of junior debt and equity in Western US-based middle-market companies that have revenues of at least $20 million and EBITDA of at least $3 million. The firm has a broad range of industry interests. True West has offices in Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Irvine (
Aterian Investment Partners has acquired Pioneer Metal Finishing, a Wisconsin-based provider of metal finishing services, from Prairie Capital, which held a minority interest, and other family owners.
Aterian invests up to $50 million in small-to-middle market businesses with $25 million to $500 million in revenues that are underperforming, turnarounds or otherwise unique situations. Aterian held a first and final closing of Aterian Investment Partners III LP with $350 million of committed capital in July 2018. Aterian’s earlier fund closed in December 2013 with $257 million of capital commitments. The firm was founded in 2009 by Brandon Bethea, Michael Fieldstone and Christopher Thomas and is based in New York (
Valence Surface Technologies provides specialized metal processing and finishing services to the commercial aerospace, defense, and space & satellite markets. Valence offers a range of wet and dry processing capabilities for aluminum, titanium, and steel structures. These offerings include: anodizing, plating, shot peening, painting, and non-destructive testing. The company operates ten facilities and is one of the largest independent aerospace & defense metal processors in North America. Valence is led by CEO Tracy Glende and is headquartered near Houston in The Woodlands (
