Hartland-based conveyor manufacturer Dorner Holding Co. has been acquired by private equity firm EQT Mid Market US GP B.V. The terms of the transaction, which closed Wednesday, were not disclosed.
Dorner Holding Co. is the parent company of Dorner Mfg. Corp., FlexMove and Geppert-Band. It was sold by Pittsburgh-based private equity firm Incline Equity Partners, which has owned Dorner since June 2012, when the founding Dorner brothers retired.
Dorner has about 350 global employees, about 250 of whom are in the U.S. In 2016, it expanded its Hartland facility to 170,000 square feet, making additional room for product development and a new laser cutter and brake press. The company designs and manufactures conveyor systems and added about 100 employees from 2013 to 2016.
EQT Mid Market invests in companies with strong market positions and growth potential in the middle market segment in northern Europe, the U.S., greater China and southeast Asia.
EQT plans to keep growing Dorner, both organically and strategically, said Terry Schadeberg, president and chief executive officer of Dorner. He expects Dorner to make more acquisitions and hire more employees this year. All of the current employees will remain on board.
“The acquisitions will be to broaden our market, product and geographic reach,” Schadeberg said. “We expect (the change of ownership) to be seamless.”
“Over the last five years, Incline Equity Partners has enabled us to grow our product lines, markets, and provide increased support to our customers,” he said. “We opened sales offices in Canada and Mexico, expanded our manufacturing capabilities, strengthened our internal management team and completed two international acquisitions: FlexMove in Malaysia and Geppert-Band in Germany. We thank Incline Equity Partners for their tremendous support and efforts.”
“The Dorner brand is recognized throughout the industry,” said Matthew Levine, partner at EQT Partners and investment advisor to EQT Mid Market. “We are committed to furthering Dorner’s growth and development through our deep network of knowledgeable industry experts.”
