International Thermal Systems acquired by PS Capital Partners, management team; Brookfield market research company acquires competitor’s customer base; Wipfli acquires Washington accounting firm
International Thermal Systems acquired by PS Capital Partners, management team
International Thermal Systems LLC, a West Milwaukee-based manufacturer of ovens, washers and dryers used in beverage canning, commercial laundry equipment and other industrial applications, has been acquired by the PS Capital Partners LLC, a Milwaukee-based private equity firm operated by Paul Stewart and Paul Sweeney, and the company’s management team.
Terms of the acquisition, which closed Aug. 20, were not disclosed. The team’s management team, led by its president and chief executive officer John Zea, purchased a minority stake in the firm, while PS Capital holds a majority position.
Financing was provided by Racine’s Johnson Bank.
The company’s management team is part of what made ITS an attractive purchase, Stewart said.
“They are highly experienced in the industry segment. They work as a team together, and frankly, we like them,” he said.
ITS’ headquarters are based at 4697 W. Greenfield Ave., where its main manufacturing facility is also based. The company also has smaller manufacturing and engineering facilities in China and Europe.
ITS has about $30 million in annual sales now, and the company’s global footprint give it significant long-term growth potential, Stewart said.
“They’re very well known – they have a good reputation with their customer base,” he said. “There is the opportunity for continued expansion as the economy rebounds. (Dollars are) beginning to be freed up in the capital investment sector, and we see opportunities in South America, Mexico, China, the Middle East and Europe.”
Stewart and Sweeney’s firm takes a longer term view on its investments than most private equity firms – many private equity investors look to buy, build and sell their portfolio companies in a five to seven year time frame. PS Capital Partners plans to hold its companies for 10 years or more.
ITS is positioned for significant growth in the next several years, Stewart said, and has a building order backlog over the next six months.
“This company will have one segment of growth following the larger corporations that provide metal packaging products (around the world) as a supplier to those companies,” he said. “The other area is in the general industrial product line, where they address a wide range of applications. As those companies come back, they’re expanding or launching new lines.”
Brookfield market research company acquires competitor’s customer base
The Dieringer Research Group Inc., a Brookfield-based marketing research company, has acquired the customer base of Lein/Spiegelhoff, a field service research company that also is based in Brookfield.
Lein/Spiegelhoff decided to close its business after 38 years.
Robert Dieringer Jr., senior vice president and chief financial officer of The Dieringer Research Group, said, "This is a perfect situation for us and Lein/Spiegelhoff. We at The DRG look forward to blending the Lein/Spiegelhoff 38-year field service tradition with our 36-year history of offering full service marketing research."
Chuck Spiegelhoff, president of Lein/Spiegelhoff, said, "I’m excited about transitioning our customers of many years to The Dieringer Research Group."
Lanie Johnson, president of The DRG, said, "How exciting this acquisition is for us. It dovetails perfectly with the construction of our new state-of-the-art Focus Group Research Center at our Brookfield headquarters schedule to open November 2010. We are excited about continuing to serve our DRG client base and adding the Lein/Spiegelhoff customer base."
Since 1974, The DRG has provided qualitative and quantitative marketing research and consulting services to companies from a wide range of industries, including health care, insurance, technology, financial services, government, utilities and manufacturing.
Wipfli acquires Washington accounting firm
Wipfli LLP, a Wauwatosa-based accounting firm, has acquired Michael R. Bell & Company PLLC of Spokane, Wash.
The acquisition expands Wipfli’s health care consulting practice.
Michael R. Bell & Company specializes in providing audit, accounting and consulting services to health care organizations and will become part of Wipfli’s full-service health care industry practice, according to a posting at WebCPA.com.
Michael R. Bell & Company was established in 1991 and provides audit, accounting and consulting services to health care organizations. The firm has 17 employees, including two partners, and works with hundreds of health care organizations across the western United States.
“Wipfli currently offers our health care clients a wide range of audit, tax and consulting services and has a number of clients in the western half of the United States, but joining forces with Michael R. Bell & Company will help us to expand into that area officially and serve a larger portion of it,” Wipfli managing partner Rick Dreher said in a statement.
Bell said Wipfli will provide his firm with additional resources, “including specialized consulting services that are focused on helping health care organizations address issues facing the industry.”
Wipfli has approximately 800 partners and associates, and 15 offices in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Washington State.
