Vertical Supply Group (“VSG”)

Location

Greensboro, NC

Industry

Industrials

Investment Status

Realized

Investment Date

Dec 2018

Realized Date

Apr 2022

Sold to

Gridiron Capital

Company Information (At Exit)

Investment Thesis

Platte River Value Add

Company Information (At Exit)

Headquartered in Greensboro, NC, VSG is a vertically integrated manufacturer, distributor and retailer of high consequence-to-cost arborist and work-at-height products for users requiring solutions that enhance safety, performance and ergonomics
Established brands recognized for safety and quality across a diversified customer base

Investment Thesis

Industry: Highly resilient core arborist market, with several attractive adjacent at-height markets including electric utility, industrial rope access, technical rescue and recreational climbing
Opportunity: Invest in a globally recognized brand with stable and recurring revenue due to safety requirements, ongoing product wear and severe weather event-driven demand
Strategy: Recruit key senior managers, expand owned-product offering, increase penetration of large accounts, broaden geographic reach, leverage VSG’s e-commerce capabilities and pursue accretive add-on acquisitions

Platte River Value Add

Completed management team buildout with hiring of CFO, COO, CTO, head of supply chain and head of product development
Opened new distribution center to enable company to efficiently serve entire US within two-day shipping radius
Implemented new warehouse and inventory management systems, and developed business intelligence software for financial reporting and KPI tracking
Operational support of add-on acquisition identification, execution and integration
Completed seven add-on acquisitions, increasing market share, adding new products / capabilities, expanding geographically and penetrating adjacent end markets
VSG net sales grew 142%, and EBITDA more than doubled under Platte River ownership

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