Watermill Group, a strategy driven private investment firm, today announced that its portfolio company Enbi Group, a leading manufacturer of high-performance precision rollers, insulation, gaskets and sealing technologies, has acquired Pierce Industries. The acquisition brings expanded capabilities to Enbi’s customer base and positions the combined organization for strategic growth across all its end markets – including digital printing, packaging, ATMs and cash handling systems, HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning), aerospace, transportation and other tight-tolerance industries.
Located in Rochester, New York, Pierce Industries is an industrial roller manufacturer that specializes in remanufacturing and assembly, advanced welding, CNC machining, cylindrical roll forming and coating applications. The company gives OEMs a competitive advantage by using innovative methods, such as inertia friction welding and cylindrical roll forming, to reduce production times and material costs and improve product quality. Its world-class remanufacturing capabilities are known for breathing new life into worn or damaged complex subassemblies and reestablishing like-new performance, increasing the lifespan of products, reducing resource and energy consumption and creating customer cost savings.
Pierce Industries President & CEO, Richard Webb, commented on the acquisition: “It has been my pleasure to lead this innovative, service-driven organization. Since 1968, our talented employees have helped to create a company that enables our customers to achieve breakthrough results. In Watermill’s family of portfolio companies, I am pleased to have found a home for Pierce that shares our values, maintains a commitment to our employees and increases our capability for innovation and growth. Our early collaboration with Enbi has shown that together we can provide a set of products and services that neither business could have offered alone, enabling us to continue our 50+ year tradition of delivering creative solutions and unparalleled results that our customers have come to rely on.”
“Pierce Industries has reinvented the way OEMs weld and manufacture industrial rollers and repurpose worn machinery, strengths which are invaluable in today’s increasingly competitive marketplace,” stated Tracy Streckenbach, Interim CEO, Enbi, and Watermill Partner. “By linking Pierce’s innovation expertise with Enbi’s precision engineering leadership, we can bring new capabilities, solutions and opportunities to our combined customer base.”
Founded in Nuth, The Netherlands, and headquartered in Shelbyville, Indiana, Enbi’s manufacturing presence spans the US, Europe and Asia. Linking this global footprint with Pierce’s capabilities will enable the combined organization to bring a wider set of innovative solutions to customers around the world.
“Watermill is dedicated to giving our portfolio companies the entrepreneurial vision, operational guidance and capital they need to realize their full potential,” stated Julia Karol, Watermill President and COO. “Bringing together these highly skilled organizations demonstrates our deep belief in Enbi and our commitment to invest in the company’s exciting future.”
For Watermill, Grant Thornton provided tax due diligence, K&L Gates and Blais, Halpert, Lieberman & Greene provided legal counsel and Partners Environmental Consulting, Inc. provided environmental due diligence. M-One Advisory, LLC advised Enbi and Nixon Peabody LLP provided legal counsel.
About Enbi Group
A leading manufacturer of high-performance precision rollers, insulation, gaskets and sealing technologies, Enbi serves best-in-class OEMs in digital printing, ATMs and cash handling systems, HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) as well as other industries in which exacting precision and quality are critical to end-product performance. The company serves a worldwide customer base from its headquarters in Shelbyville, Indiana as well as manufacturing facilities in the US, Europe and Asia. To learn more, visit enbigroup.com.
About Pierce Industries
Located in Rochester, New York, Pierce Industries is an industrial roller manufacturer that specializes in remanufacturing and assembly, advanced welding, CNC machining, cylindrical roll forming and coating applications. The company provides custom products and services to a wide range of end markets, including digital printing, packaging, glass equipment, mining, laminating, converting, aerospace, transportation, and ATMs, cash handling, and mail sorting systems.
About the Watermill Group
The Watermill Group is a strategy-driven private investment firm that helps companies achieve their full potential through strategic transformation. For more than four decades, Watermill has been acquiring, operating and improving companies. Watermill looks for businesses in which it can apply a unique combination of strategic insight and management expertise to re-imagine their future and drive growth.
