Gridiron Capital has sold Ramsey Industries, a manufacturer of service cranes, industrial and commercial winches and planetary gear drives. The transaction closed on 6 November, 2017.
Gridiron Capital originally invested in Ramsey in 2006 and built on Ramsey’s foundation of the Auto Crane and Ramsey Winch brands by acquiring Eskridge in 2007. During the Great Recession, Gridiron Capital intensively supported the Ramsey management team to ensure that the business weathered the economic storm and continued its growth. During Gridiron Capital’s holding Ramsey expanded its management team, significantly increased margins and cash flow, shortened lead times, introduced numerous new products, expanded its intellectual property portfolio and diversified its end markets and customer base.
Joe Saldutti, Managing Director of Gridiron Capital and Board member of Ramsey, says: “We are extremely proud to have grown the legacy of Ramsey and its brands. Ramsey’s team performed extremely well, at times in difficult economic circumstances, to deliver healthy and positive returns to all stakeholders. Personally, it was extremely rewarding to have successfully partnered with the Ramsey team and we’re confident that they will continue to build on their success as Ramsey continues its strong growth.”
John Celoni, CEO of Ramsey, says: “Joining the Ramsey Industries family in 2009 was certainly a challenge and excellent opportunity all in one. The support received from the Gridiron Capital team during the Great Recession was phenomenal. We weathered that storm working side by side driving operational and financial excellence while creating a continuous improvement culture. This positioned the Ramsey Industries team and brands for an extremely bright future and continue to be a leader in their industries!”
Gridiron Capital Co-Founder and Managing Partner Tom Burger, says: “We’ve enjoyed working with the Ramsey management team and our longstanding partnership with the Company. Ramsey is well positioned to continue to be a leader in the market. We are confident that the Company and the management team will enjoy future success with their new partner.”
BB&T Capital Markets served as financial advisors and Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP served as legal counsel to Ramsey.
