MiBiz Growth Report: July 9, 2018

MiBiz Growth Report: July 9, 2018

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for July 9, 2018:

 

• M&A: Grand Rapids-based wholesale distributor S. Abraham & Sons Inc. (SAS) is under new ownership. According to a report in The New Orleans Advocate, Imperial Trading Co. of Elmwood, La. acquired the stock of SAS parent company GRAD Inc. The family-owned, 90-year-old SAS serves as a wholesale grocery distributor to convenience stores throughout the Midwest. The newly combined company will become the fifth-largest convenience store distributor in the nation, with more than 1,000 employees, a 20-state footprint and annual sales of more than $2.5 billion, according to a report in trade publication CSP Magazine. The Advocate also reported that Imperial intends to maintain the two distribution centers operated by SAS in Grand Rapids and Indianapolis and the company’s West Michigan corporate offices.

• M&A: Ludington-based ProAct Services Corp. was acquired by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based Evoqua Water Technologies Corp. (NYSE: AQUA) for $132 million. ProAct Services had been owned by private equity firm Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Company Inc. and several members of the company’s management team. The company, which provides on-site treatment services for contaminated water, generated approximately $54 million in revenues, according to a statement. After the close of the deal, ProAct Services will operate as a separate division within Evoqua’s Industrial Segment. The firm, which employs about 180 people nationwide, will continue its operations in Ludington. Evoqua plans to finance the transaction with a $150 million first lien term loan.

• M&A: Grand Rapids-based tooling design and engineering firm Die Cad Group Inc. was acquired by Macomb-based Tooling Technologies Group, a multi-division tooling, engineering and automation firm. The deal expands Tooling Technologies’ capabilities in tooling design, simulation and other services, according to a statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Die Cad Group maintains locations in Byron Center and Greenville and serves customers in the automotive, off-highway, furniture and white goods industries. The two companies share “virtually no overlap” in their customer bases, according to a statement. Tooling Technologies Group is backed by private equity firm GenNx360 Capital Partners.

• M&A: Kalamazoo-based Zeigler Automotive Group acquired McCarthy Ford of Riverside, Ill. from Ray and John LeFevour. For Zeigler Automotive, the deal marks the company’s fourth Ford store and its 26th dealership acquisition, according to a statement. The McCarthy Ford store was known as Joe Rizza Ford for nearly 40 years until the LeFevours bought it in February 2017. Zeigler Automotive rebranded the dealership as Zeigler Ford of Riverside. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Zeigler Automotive Group ranks 62nd on the Automotive News list of top dealers as ranked by new car sales, which totaled 15,090 in 2017. The company generated $1.08 billion in revenue last year.

• M&A: Kalamazoo-based Stryker Corp. (NYSE: SYK) plans to buy a Swiss company that produces a medical device to clear smoke during procedures that involve cauterizing tissue. Terms of the deal between Stryker and SafeAir AG were undisclosed. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. SafeAir’s products reduce staff and patient exposure to the hazards of surgical smoke.

• M&A: DHE Climate Solutions LLC of Sparta purchased the assets of Visser Heating & Cooling Inc., also of Sparta. The deal, which became effective June 1, was the culmination of about eight months of dialogue between the two companies, DHE Managing Partner Scott Bultman told MiBiz. One of Visser Heating’s principals wanted to get out of the business to pursue another interest and “was looking for a safe place for the company to land after 30 years,” Bultman said. The two firms had worked together in the past when DHE subcontracted overflow business to Visser Heating during busy times of the year, he said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• M&A: Eaton Federal Savings Bank acquired Stockbridge Bankcorporation Inc., the Stockbridge-based parent company of SSBBank. Two SSBBank offices in Gregory and Stockbridge — southeast of Lansing — will operate as Eaton Federal Savings Bank branches. An office in Eaton Rapids will consolidate into a nearby Eaton Federal Savings Bank branch. SSBBank had assets of $66.2 million at the end of the fourth quarter. Eaton Federal Savings Bank, with five branches in Eaton County and one in Barry County, had assets of about $280 million.

• Strategic partnership: Grand Rapids-based Kamps Pallets Inc. entered into a strategic partnership with Zeeland-based Corrloc LLC, a corrugated pallet and packaging firm, according to a statement. The deal gives Kamps access to Corrloc’s technology and manufacturing capabilities, which it will bring to its national customer base. Corrloc developed a line of alternative packaging products that can be made from recycled materials. The company launched production at a plant in Niles in May of this year. Terms of the partnership were not disclosed.

• Expansion: Kalamazoo-based medical device manufacturer Stryker Corp. (NYSE: SYK) plans to invest $109.8 million into a Portage manufacturing facility, where it expects to add up to 260 jobs by the end of 2025. The proposed 253,000-square-foot medical device manufacturing facility will include special amenities for employees, namely a cafe and patio, additional training space and newly designed offices. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2020. The Michigan Strategic Fund approved a $2.6 million performance-based Michigan Business Development Program grant to support the Stryker project.

• Expansion: Grand Rapids-based Packaging Compliance Labs LLC, a packaging engineering and validation firm for the medical device and pharmaceutical industry, opened an office in downtown Denver, Colo., according to a report in trade publication MedGadget. The move expands PCL’s footprint and allows it to serve the growing biotech sector in the Denver area and provide the company with visibility to other industry hubs on the West Coast. PCL works with medical device manufacturers, product developers and entrepreneurs on product packaging.