Wade Walla has purchased Builders Hardware and Hollow Metal Inc. in Menomonee Falls from Dennis and Jan Jacque. The transaction closed July 15 for an undisclosed price.
Dennis Jacque has retired. Walla is now president of Builders Hardware, which has 30 employees.
Founded in 1983, Builders Hardware manufactures and distributes interior window frames and door openings for commercial applications and offers custom hollow metal forming services. It has made doors and frames for the Harley-Davidson Museum, the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Calatrava addition and Miller Park, Walla said.
Walla previously founded Oak Creek-based IT consulting firm Group Basis Inc., which he sold to Mequon-based private equity firm Blackthorne Partners Ltd. in 2013, which later sold it to TriCore Solutions.
Walla was seeking an acquisition in the $5 million to $15 million range to reinvest the capital. Milwaukee-based Water Street Advisors served as the Jacques’ broker.
“With the boomers hitting retirement age…I kind of came to the conclusion that there were going to be a lot of closely held businesses that would come up for sale in the near term,” Walla said.
Builders Hardware is on track to bring in $10 million in revenue this year, and Walla wants to continue growing the company. He plans to hire another five to 10 employees in the next year and upgrade the company’s website.
“I just plan on investing to grow the company,” Walla said. “I think that there’s some opportunities in terms of information technology and growing the workforce that will help us take advantage of this booming Milwaukee construction market.”
