Seal For Life, a portfolio company of Arsenal Capital Partners, has completed the add-on acquisitions of Flame Control Coatings, Highland International, LifeLast, and US Coatings.
Arsenal acquired Seal For Life (SFL) in July 2019 from publicly traded Berry Global Group for $328 million. At that time, Arsenal announced that SFL would serve as a platform investment in the coatings sector focused on the infrastructure and industrial markets.
SFL provides corrosion prevention, waterproofing, and insulation products that prolong the life and durability of water and oil pipelines, tanks and terminals, power generation and petrochemical infrastructure. The company’s products include plastic meshes to protect pipes and pipelines from rocks when backfilled; cathodic protection products; visco-elastic coatings to protect assets from corrosion and water ingress; cold-applied and fused tape products; single wrap pipeline coating systems; and liquid coating products. SFL products are sold under the company-owned brand names Anodeflex, Stopaq, Polyken, Covalence, and Powercrete.
Belgium-headquartered SFL, with annual sales of approximately $120 million, has operations in the Netherlands, Belgium, India, Mexico, and the United States, with over 380 employees.
With the add-on acquisitions of Flame Control Coatings, LifeLast, US Coatings, and Highland International, SFL broadens its portfolio of protective coating technologies, expands its range of applications, and grows its presence in North America:
Flame Control Coatings is a Niagara Falls, New York-based manufacturer of flame retardant and heat resistant specialty coatings sold under the Flame Control and TemperKote brands;
LifeLast is a Pflugerville, Texas-based manufacturer of polyurethane protective linings and coatings that are used in water, wastewater, OEM, and industrial applications;
US Coatings is a St. Louis, Missouri-based manufacturer of corrosion prevention and heat resistant coatings used in oil & gas, mining, rail and industrial applications; and
Highland International is a Boone, North Carolina-based formulator of heat resistant and corrosion protection coatings with expertise in high-temperature coatings;
“These four acquisitions add unique liquid coating technologies that are complementary to our existing portfolio of products and enable SFL to be a one-stop solution to our customers,” said Dirk Totte, president of SFL. “This an exciting milestone for the company and its employees.”
With the closings of the four add-on acquisitions, Arsenal has named Jeff Oravitz as SFL’s new chief executive officer. For almost 11 years Mr. Oravitz was with MetoKote, most recently as president, which was acquired by PPG Industries in June 2016 from Platinum Equity. Lima, OH-based MetoKote applies coatings to customers’ manufactured parts and assembled products. It operates on-site coatings services within several customer manufacturing locations, as well as at regional service centers, located throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic. MetoKote grew to nearly $200 million in global revenue and more than 1,500 employees across 29 facilities under Mr. Oravitz’s leadership. In September 2017, Mr. Oravitz led PPG’s acquisition of The Crown Group, a Warren, MI-based provider of coating services, from High Road Capital Partners. In total, Mr. Oravitz has nearly 30 years of specialty chemicals experience.
“Jeff is a natural fit for SFL given his relevant background in the industrial coatings sector,” said Sal Gagliardo, an operating partner of Arsenal. “With Jeff’s leadership, SFL will continue to add critical solutions and technologies that address the growing market needs for infrastructure maintenance and protection.”
Arsenal invests in middle-market specialty industrial and healthcare companies that have $100 million to $500 million in enterprise value. The firm has offices in New York and Shanghai.
© 2020 Private Equity Professional | January 8, 2020