Private investment firm Auxo Investment Partners has acquired Securit Metal Products, a 70-year-old manufacturer of solid and semi-tubular rivets based in Dowagiac, Michigan.
The move follows Auxo's previous acquisition of Prestige Stamping, a Warren, Michigan-based manufacturer of custom-engineered washers and stampings for the fastener industry. The purchase – marking Auxo’s sixth acquisition in the state of Michigan, and 14th overall – reinforces the investment firm’s commitment to investing in Michigan-based, and largely family-owned, businesses with the aim of preserving their legacies, creating and retaining jobs, and driving sustainable, long-term value for Michigan communities.
Founded in 1952 and based in Michigan for much of its history, Securit fabricates permanent solid rivets (as well as semi-tubular rivets), which are used in a variety of industrial applications, including semi-truck trailers, automotive subassemblies, boats, bourbon barrels and cookware. Securit serves numerous industries and has a strong presence in the trucking industry, which requires large quantities of rivets for trailer assembly. Amid a recovering national economy and the embrace of new loading techniques, the industry, along with well-established suppliers like Securit, are positioned for steady growth over the coming years.
“As we got to know the Auxo team, we felt confident about what working with them would mean for our company, our employees and our community,” said Securit President Bryan Knoll, who will continue in his current role. “We are proud of the tightknit workplace that we’ve established over the past seven decades and genuinely excited about how this partnership will bolster our market position by expanding our sales infrastructure and leveraging new opportunities in coordination with Prestige Stamping. More importantly, we can count on Auxo to be careful stewards of the business with a genuine commitment to our people and community – because they live and work here, too.”
Jeff Helminski, Auxo co-founder and managing partner, added: "Securit has built an exceptional reputation for service quality, timeliness, and delivery — as well as an enviable workplace culture that you just don’t see every day. I have never heard customers rave about a supplier the way customers talk about Securit. We are excited to partner with Bryan to further solidify Securit’s strong position in the industry through the deployment of Auxo’s growth playbook and exploring smart ways to maximize synergies between Securit and its sister portfolio company Prestige Stamping to enhance the company’s infrastructure and operations.”
Strong Industry Tailwinds and Synergistic Opportunities
The press statement goes on to note “rebounding national economy and increased demand for freight services” has boosted the demand for trucking companies to update and expand their fleets of semi-truck trailers: “Simultaneously, the industry is increasingly embracing drop-and-hook freight –– a loading technique that maximizes driver utilization by reducing the time drivers wait for the freight to be loaded and unloaded from the trailers, necessitating larger trailer fleets.
“With both factors increasing demand for rivets, Securit is poised for continued growth given its available manufacturing capacity and best-in-class customer service. Combining these factors with cross-selling opportunities with Prestige’s customers in automotive, general industrial and construction/infrastructure markets is expected to lead to dramatic growth opportunities ahead for Securit.
“In today's manufacturing environment, where companies are navigating supply chain disruptions resulting from having shipped production offshore to save a few cents per part, we see reshoring efforts increasing demand for domestic production as purchasing departments begin to account for risk-adjusted total landed costs in their sourcing decisions,” added Helminski. “Securit is positioned to step up and deliver for American manufacturing customers given our available production capacity and ample supply of talented labor in Southwest Michigan.”
Advisors and lenders on the transaction included Miller Johnson PLC, Barnes & Thornburg LLP, KSM, BHS Insurance, Strategies Wealth Advisors, Krauter & Co., Thomas Brady & Associates, Miedema Appraisals, Mercantile Bank of Michigan, and Oxer Capital.
www.auxopartners.com
