Minneapolis, Minnesota – Norwest Equity Partners (NEP), a leading middle market investment firm founded in 1961, has made a significant investment in Ramsey Industries (the Company), a Tulsa, Oklahoma based leading manufacturer of service cranes, industrial and commercial winches, planetary gear, and digger drives. The transaction closed on November 6, 2017; financial terms were not disclosed.
Founded in 1944 by Claude and Rayburn Ramsey as Ramsey Brothers Tool & Die to manufacture aircraft parts, tools, and dies for Douglas Aircraft Company, Ramsey is today comprised of three wholly-owned branded subsidiaries, Auto Crane®, Eskridge® and Ramsey Winch®. Each of Ramsey’s brands is a leader in its market segment with a long-standing reputation for safety, innovation, quality, reliability, and performance serving mission critical applications. Driven by a lean, streamlined approach to product development and problem solving, Ramsey products have continued to dramatically improve the energy, mining, utility, and construction industries around the world.
Auto Crane® designs and manufactures a comprehensive line of truck-mounted electric and hydraulic telescopic cranes, crane service bodies, crane control technologies, accessories, and mobile solutions for the energy, mining, construction, industrial, forestry and railroad industries. Eskridge® is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of planetary gear drives and anchor drives, digger drives, and multiple-disc brakes. Ramsey Winch® designs and manufactures industry-leading industrial and consumer winches for use in towing and recovery, industrial, petroleum, off-road and ATV vehicles.
John Celoni, Ramsey CEO, stated, “On behalf of the entire Ramsey team, we are thrilled to partner with NEP for the next phase of our growth. NEP has a long standing reputation for not only successful investments but continued advancement and implementation of strategic initiatives for its portfolio companies. There is a great cultural fit between our two teams, and we are excited to leverage NEP’s capital, network and vast resources, as well as its high quality competence as an investment partner.”
NEP and Ramsey complement each other well as they share established business roots and longevity of operations. With a strong and cohesive management team led by John Celoni, Ramsey has built a reputation of having long-standing customer relationships with a diversified supplier base and a sales team focused on working together with channel partners to create successful solutions. Ramsey products are built from innovative, highly-engineered solutions that drive superior performance and much of the Company’s growth plans will be defined by continued innovation, including new product development focusing on market needs, as well as both customer and geography footprint expansion.
Tim Kuehl, NEP Partner, stated, “Ramsey’s highly diversified business model, experienced management team, excellent customer service, and premium brand portfolio differentiates them amongst their competitors. We look forward to working together with John and his team to leverage the Company’s already superior platform for continued growth.”
Ramsey operates two modern facilities; one in Tulsa, Oklahoma, serving as corporate headquarters and production facility for both Auto Crane® and Ramsey Winch®, and one in Olathe, Kansas, where Eskridge® products are manufactured.
BB&T Capital Markets advised Ramsey on the transaction; Winston & Strawn provided legal services for NEP; Ally Corporate Finance, ING Capital and Siemens Financial Services served as senior lenders; and Norwest Mezzanine Partners served as mezzanine lender. More information can be found on www.ramseyindustries.com and www.nep.com.