Blue Wolf Capital Partners (Blue Wolf), a New York-based private equity firm, has acquired Colson Group (Colson), a leader in caster and wheel product solutions. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Blue Wolf Capital Partners (Blue Wolf), a New York-based private equity firm, has acquired Colson Group (Colson), a leader in caster and wheel product solutions. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Colson is one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of casters and wheels in the world, with over 1,600 employees across 30 global facilities in 14 countries. With a large and diverse customer base that includes several Fortune 500 corporations, Colson offers the most comprehensive suite of caster and wheel solutions in the industry. The Company’s products are used in a wide variety of applications across end-markets such as medical, industrial, logistics, retail and e-commerce.
“With its global scale and long-standing roster of blue-chip customers, Colson is the global leader in the highly stable and growing casters and wheels market. In addition, Colson’s large domestic manufacturing footprint combined with its impressive product portfolio uniquely position the company to serve the U.S. market. Over the next few years, we intend to invest significant capital to further enhance Colson’s domestic capabilities,” says Aakash Patel, Principal at Blue Wolf. “We are excited to partner with Tom Blashill and his management team to accelerate long-term growth at Colson.”
“Our track record of transforming industrial manufacturing companies into best-in-class businesses combined with our experience optimising and strengthening global supply chains position us perfectly to support Colson in the next phase of its evolution. We will seek to unlock value at Colson by both leveraging their strong existing foundation and by utilising Blue Wolf’s unique skillset,” adds Adam Blumenthal, Managing Partner of Blue Wolf Capital. “By implementing our ESG investment framework, we will focus on driving growth at Colson through operational, commercial and organisational enhancements. We look forward to working with the Company on this exciting journey.”
“We are pleased to be partnering with Blue Wolf to build upon the market-leading reputation Colson has developed over its 100-plus year history. Not only does Blue Wolf have a successful track record investing in industrial manufacturing businesses, but they also have a team of highly experienced operating professionals who will work alongside us and add value to our management team as we drive further efficiencies in the Company,” says Tom Blashill, CEO of Colson Group. “As we enter this new chapter, Blue Wolf’s support will best position Colson to continue to deliver the innovative products, unmatched customer service and supply chain excellence necessary to support our growing global customer base.”
As a result of the acquisition, Blue Wolf Operating Partner Rich Kobor will join Colson’s Board of Directors alongside Adam Blumenthal and Aakash Patel of Blue Wolf as well as Colson’s CEO Tom Blashill. In addition, Ray Poole, who retired after more than a 25-year career at United Technologies during which he served as CFO of the Carrier Residential and Fire & Security Global Fire Product divisions and most recently, was the Senior Vice President of Operations and CFO for Emcor Facilities Services, will also join the Board.
