Turnspire Capital Partners has sold its portfolio company Crane Carrier Company to Battle Motors.
Turnspire formed Crane Carrier in December 2018 to acquire the specialty vehicle group of Hines Corporation, a manufacturer of heavy-duty truck chassis, complete vehicles and aftermarket parts. Crane Carrier’s products are used in the work truck industry and include custom, severe-service chassis and purpose-built vehicles used in the refuse and recycling, infrastructure maintenance, ground support, agriculture, and energy markets. The company’s products are sold under the Crane Carrier Company and Crane Carrier Company Engineered Chassis brands.
Crane Carrier is headquartered 90 miles south of Cleveland in New Philadelphia, Ohio. The company was founded in 1946 and acquired by Hines in 2013.
During Turnspire’s ownership term, the firm worked with management to launch Crane Carrier as an independent company separate from Hines, divested its non-core mixer division (CyKlone Mixers), introduce new refuse and custom chassis products, and began positioning the business as an acquisition target in the electric vehicle truck segment.
“We are thrilled with the outcome of our Crane Carrier investment, which serves as a validation of our investment strategy,” said Ilya Koffman, a managing partner of Turnspire. “The business is well-positioned to lead the transition of large vocational truck fleets to all-electric, zero-emission vehicles. We look forward to following Crane Carrier’s further growth and innovation as part of Battle Motors.”
“It was great working with Turnspire, and we look forward to continuing to build the market’s best trucks at Crane Carrier, which is now a Battle Motors company,” said Mike Patterson, the CEO of Battle Motors.
New York City-based Turnspire invests in companies with revenues between $50 million and $400 million and valuations up to $125 million. The firm prefers companies that are underperformers and/or in need of an operational turnaround.
Battle Motors is based in New Philadelphia, Ohio.