Colson Group Announces Strategic Acquisition by Blue Wolf Capital Partners

/in , , /by

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COLSON GROUP ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC ACQUISITION BY BLUE WOLF CAPITAL PARTNERS

Aligned philosophies and vision for increasing customer value and accelerating global growth

 

OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL., March 1, 2021 — Colson Group, a global leader in caster and wheel product solutions, today announced its acquisition by Blue Wolf Capital Partners LLC (“Blue Wolf”).

“We are excited to partner with Blue Wolf, a firm that shares our philosophies and vision for Colson Group,” stated Tom Blashill, CEO of Colson Group. “While our strong global brands and experienced team attracted substantial investor attention, Blue Wolf differentiated themselves. Their expertise and deep understanding of industrial businesses and customer channels will be a tremendous asset in our plans for operational and service excellence. Blue Wolf appreciates the work completed so far in our global transformation and their skillset and strategy will help accelerate it with further investments in domestic manufacturing, service technologies, and product solutions that continue to separate us from the competition.”

Blue Wolf is a New York-based private equity firm that builds stronger businesses by combining financial and operational discipline with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles. The firm works closely with management to create value at companies in specialty sectors including niche manufacturing, industrial & engineering services, forest & building products and healthcare services.

“Our experience building best-in-class industrial manufacturing companies positions Blue Wolf well to support Colson Group in accelerating growth and enhancing its current market position and manufacturing strategy,” said Adam Blumenthal, Managing Partner of Blue Wolf Capital Partners. “We are excited to partner with Tom Blashill and the Colson Group management team to provide the necessary capital and resources to drive long-term growth opportunities for the company and its customers. We look forward to building on Colson Group’s rich legacy of product solutions and long-standing business relationships with our commitment to organizational and operational excellence.”

Former owner Sentinel Capital Partners sold Colson Group to Blue Wolf after acquiring the company in 2012. Prior to Sentinel, the company was held by Robert Pritzker who acquired the Colson caster brand in 1953 and built it into the worldwide caster leader that is now Colson Group.

About Colson Group (www.ColsonGroup.com): Colson Group, a global leader in caster and wheel products, creates and drives solutions that move lives forward. World renowned brands provide specialized mobility for every industry and market. A leading product portfolio and proprietary global value chain deliver unparalleled efficiencies and support. With over 1,600 employees across 30 global facilities, Colson Group is committed to its customers’ success, ensuring proper products are selected or designed from the start, and always keeping the end-users’ safety, efficiency, and happiness in mind.

About Blue Wolf Capital Partners: Blue Wolf Capital Partners LLC is a private equity firm that specializes in control investments in middle market companies. Leading by experience, and with a commitment to excellence, Blue Wolf transforms companies strategically, operationally and collaboratively. Blue Wolf manages challenging situations and complex relationships between business, customers, employees, unions, and regulators to build value for stakeholders. For additional information, please visit www.bluewolfcapital.com.

 

Colson Group Introduces New Antimocribial Soft Wheel For High-temp Steam Sterilization And Wash Down Applications

/in /by
OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL (January 19, 2021) — Colson Group, a global leader in manufacturing casters and wheels, has officially launched an advanced new series of wheels specially made for use on equipment that’s frequently exposed to high-temperature sterilization chambers and repeated cart wash applications. The new Sterilizer High-Temp Soft Wheels are antimicrobial, competitively priced, and feature desirable performance characteristics exceeding wheels typically used in these applications. As explained by Jeffrey Bader, the company’s product manager for the medical segment, “Hospitals and labs often sterilize instruments and equipment utilizing wheeled carts that historically required hard wheels to handle the frequent exposure to high temperatures and vacuum pressure. This was due to traditional soft wheels flat spotting, melting or breaking down relatively quickly in these conditions—despite it being the preferred option for mobility performance, and noise and vibration reduction. With this launch, customers can now attain these mobility benefits with a soft wheel specifically designed to address these challenges—making the MedCaster Sterilizer Wheel a superior option for case carts, sterilizer carts, test cages, lab equipment and operating room equipment.” Sterilizer High-Temp Soft Wheels were formulated and independently tested to withstand typical steam sterilization cycles of 280°F at -32 psi vacuum pressure, without developing flat spots or having the outer tread separate from the core. Even under these extreme conditions, the wheels provide excellent traction and quiet performance, absorbing shock and vibration much greater than the hard wheels traditionally required. Available in both 5” and 6” wheel diameters, MedCaster Sterilizer wheels feature stainless steel thread guards to prevent the collection of entangling debris, dual-shielded precision ball bearings for smooth and quiet mobility, and debris-rejecting antimicrobial treads for durability and performance. Add the Sterilizer Wheel to MedCaster’s recently upgraded SX Series swivel, rigid, total lock, or direction lock caster solutions to gain all of the high-temp benefits for your carts or equipment. For additional information, please visit www.medcaster.com/Sterilizer or connect with caster experts at www.medcaster.com/contact to help solve any of your mobility needs. About Colson Group: Colson Group, the global leader in caster and wheel products, creates and drives solutions that move lives forward. World renowned brands provide specialized mobility for every industry and market. A leading product portfolio and proprietary global value chain delivery unparalleled efficiencies and support. With over 1,600 employees across 25 global facilities, Colson Group is committed to its customers’ success, ensuring proper products are selected or designed from the start, and always keeping the end-users’ safety, efficiency, and happiness in mind.

Colson Group Acquires Assets of Vulcan Industries, Inc.

/in /by
Expands global product solutions and service capabilities. OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL., October 21, 2020 — Colson Group, a leading global caster and wheel company, announced today that it has completed the asset acquisition of Vulcan Industries, Inc.. “With complementing products and customer bases, this acquisition was a natural fit to broaden and enhance the product solutions and services available to our collective customers,” stated Tom Blashill, CEO of Colson Group. “United by common goals for quality products and responsive service, we are committed to advancing the high level of service Vulcan customers are familiar with through our established global infrastructure and investments in technology and people.” For years, the Vulcan brand has provided customers throughout North America with high quality casters for various light and medium duty applications—specializing in solutions for food service, hospitality, and medical industries. “This acquisition integrates the Vulcan brand and resources into Colson Group’s leading portfolio and US infrastructure, enabling it to leverage new channels for growth,” said Bjorn Haldorsen, President of Colson Group North America. “In addition, Vulcan customers now also have access to our global engineering, manufacturing, and service resources to help them solve any of their mobility or supply chain challenges. We are extremely pleased to welcome the Vulcan team to Colson Group.” vulcan About Colson Group (www.ColsonGroup.com): Colson Group, the global leader in caster and wheel products, creates and drives solutions that move lives forward. World renowned brands provide specialized mobility for every industry and market. A leading product portfolio and proprietary global value chain delivery unparalleled efficiencies and support. With over 1,600 employees across 30 global facilities, Colson Group is committed to its customers’ success, ensuring proper products are selected or designed from the start, and always keeping the end-users’ safety, efficiency, and happiness in mind.

Colson Group Appoints Bjorn Haldorsen as President of North America

/in /by

New role will optimize growth initiatives and strengthen market position.

OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL., May 8, 2020 — Colson Group, a global caster and wheel product company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Bjorn Haldorsen as President of Colson North America. In this capacity, Bjorn will lead the company’s North American business operations, with focus on optimizing growth initiatives, expanding North American supply chain and manufacturing, and furthering the strategic integration of Colson North America to best service the marketplace.

This is a new position created by the company, highlighting its focus on growth for North America.

“As we continue to expand production capacity closer to our customers, the requirement for this role has grown and is now a critical step to accelerating our growth plans into the future,” stated Tom Blashill, CEO of Colson Group. “After an extensive search, we found the right person for this role, and I am happy to welcome Bjorn to the Colson team.”

With a focus on customer experience, Bjorn comes to Colson with over 25 years of leadership experience in supply chain, plant management, and general management. Prior to Colson, Bjorn worked for Honeywell International for 8 years and has been with Flowserve Corporation since 2002, where he served in various regional and global leadership roles. Most recently, Bjorn was the Vice President General Manager of Flowserve’s Americas Industrial Pump Operation where he was responsible for all business functions, leading more than 1,000 employees.

Bjorn received his Bachelor’s degree in purchasing and logistics management from Arizona State University and his M.B.A. in international finance at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He will reside at the company’s corporate headquarters in Oakbrook, IL with extensive travel to all company facilities.

###

About Colson Group (www.ColsonGroup.com):

Colson Group, the global leader in caster and wheel products, creates and drives solutions that move lives forward. World renowned brands provide specialized mobility for every industry and market. A leading product portfolio and proprietary global value chain delivery unparalleled efficiencies and support. With over 1,600 employees across 30 global facilities, Colson Group is committed to its customers’ success, ensuring proper products are selected or designed from the start, and always keeping the end-users’ safety, efficiency, and happiness in mind.

Colson Group announces acquisition of AS Rollen GmbH

/in /by

Expands global caster and wheel manufacturing capabilities.

OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL., April 30, 2020 — Colson Group, a global caster and wheel product company, announced today the recent acquisition of AS Rollen, a Huckeswagen, Germany caster and wheel manufacturer. “AS Rollen has an excellent reputation for producing high quality, competitive caster and wheel solutions, specializing in the medical segment,” stated Tom Blashill, CEO of Colson Group. “This strategic acquisition will provide our global locations an excellent source of German manufactured caster solutions.” The company is located only minutes from Colson Group’s German offices.

AS Rollen and its staff, led by founder Mr. Arnolf Schulte, are now integrated into Colson Group’s Northern European organization which is led by General Manager, Ernst-Jan Venema. “The synergies of products and staff will enhance our abilities to better serve our customers throughout Europe,” said Ernst. “This will greatly shorten our lead-times as compared to products manufactured outside of Europe, opening up new opportunities for additional growth and flexibility throughout the world. We welcome the AS Rollen team to Colson Group.”

Mr. Schulte will remain general manager of the facility and team, working closely with Ernst and other Colson Group leaders to leverage its capabilities to further advance the company’s global supply chain. The facility is ISO 9001:2015 certified and utilizes state-of-the-art machinery to ensure the highest quality caster is consistently manufactured. Capabilities include: injection molding, automated/semi-automated assembly, and in-house testing. For more information about AS Rollen, you can visit https://as-rollen.de/.

###

About Colson Group:

Colson Group, the global leader in caster and wheel products, creates and drives solutions that move lives forward. World renowned brands provide specialized mobility for every industry and market. A leading product portfolio and proprietary global value chain delivery unparalleled efficiencies and support. With over 1,600 employees across 30 global facilities, Colson Group is committed to its customers’ success, ensuring proper products are selected or designed from the start, and always keeping the end-users’ safety, efficiency, and happiness in mind.

Thank You from Colson – Proud and Grateful

/in /by
Thankful for our amazing employees who have continued to show up every day to build the caster and wheel solutions the world needs right now. From moving critical medical equipment for patients and frontline workers, to moving the food, supplies, and materials needed in our local communities—your efforts make a difference, and you are what makes us Colson. We are proud to serve these hard-working employees lunch each day, thanking them for their dedication and willingness to support each other’s safety during these challenging times. #ColsonStrong #ThankYou #RollingAtTheSpeedOfLife #MyNewks #TheGreatAmericanTakeout

Jonesboro Strong: Ef-3 Tornado Hits Jonesboro, Arkansas

/in /by
This past weekend an EF-3 tornado tore through Jonesboro, AR causing substantial damage to the community. Over 20 people were injured as this storm took a direct hit on Jonesboro and we all remain thankful that no fatalities were reported. Our local teams are all safe and our plant was left undamaged and remains operational. We will continue to support our local team members, their families, and the rest of the community as it comes together to rebuild and help those that were injured and impacted. More information on relief efforts can be found on the bottom of this updated local news article: https://www.kait8.com/2020/03/29/nws-ef-rips-jonesboro-ark-businesses-damaged-eligible-covid-unemployment-help/

COVID-19 Operations & Essential Business Update

/in /by

Dear Valued Customer,

The safety and health of our employees and business partners continues to be our top priority as we maneuver through these unchartered times brought on by COVID-19.

The US Department of Homeland Security recently issued new guidelines to state and local governments on which businesses are considered essential and have a special responsibility to remain operational during any Shelter in Place orders.  The publication can be viewed at the following link:

https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/CISA-Guidance-on-Essential-Critical-Infrastructure-Workers-1-20-508c.pdf

Colson Group continues to play its role in fighting this virus by providing critical mobility components into the healthcare industry and other essential industries that are supporting the welfare of our communities.  We are quickly ramping up global production capabilities to support several of these critical industries.  Based on these published guidelines, Colson Group is considered an essential business that must continue to operate during this difficult time and is exempt from current Shelter in Place orders.

Colson Group will continue to operate its business under the safest of standards (please refer to our previous communication for further details) and will continue to work with our local teams, suppliers and officials to safely maintain our ability to service your needs.  As previously communicated, we continue to assess all open orders and will notify you of any potential delay as quickly as possible.  If your order or request is critical to fighting the impact of the virus, please inform us at the time of inquiry or order placement so we can do our very best to prioritize and expedite it.

We will continue to post all updates to our News area on the Colson Group website (https://colsongroupusa.com/news/) and will continue to keep you updated on any critical advancements.

We again thank you for your business and support in these difficult times.

Sincerely,

Colson Group

Operations Update Regarding COVID-19 Coronavirus

/in /by

Dear Valued Customer,

With the increasing concern regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus, we wanted to ensure you that we are closely monitoring the situation and provide you a quick update as it relates to our operations and the actions we will be taking.

Our first priority is always the safety and well-being of our employees, business partners and communities. As we have all seen, the situation with the COVID-19 virus continues to quickly change throughout our local communities. Colson Group closely monitors these changes to assess any potential impact they could have on our operations—and will continue to work with our local teams and officials to safely maintain our ability to service your needs. Below are general updates regarding our operations and key actions we are taking to ensure the safest operating standards:

  • All global facilities have taken preventative measures to limit exposure and educate employees on awareness and risk mitigation.
  • In order to limit potential/future exposure, all international and domestic interplant travel, customer visits, and vendor visits will be postponed for the next 30 days.
  • Our three Chinese manufacturing facilities remain open and will be working without limitation pending any directional change from the Chinese government. We continue to build and ship product and have assessed a low risk to potential delays in customer deliveries.
  • Currently, our six US manufacturing and distribution facilities are open and under normal operation hours. This is also the case with other Colson Group global locations.
  • US service and support will remain open under normal operating hours and is ready to continue supporting all of your caster and wheel needs.
  • In the event that circumstances result in increased absenteeism (school closings, illness, etc.) response times may be delayed. As previously communicated, our advanced planning for Chinese New Year has helped mitigate delays, however we continue to assess all open orders and will notify you of any potential delay as quickly as possible. We are happy to answer any questions you might have, so please feel free to reach out to your Colson Group sales representative for additional support.

We again thank you for your business and understanding in these difficult times.

Sincerely,

Colson Group

Operations Updates: Coronavirus Impact

/in /by

Dear Valued Customer,

The dynamic coronavirus outbreak continues to disrupt life throughout the world, especially in mainland China. We mourn with the rest of the world for the lives lost, and keep the safety and health of the public, our employees and partners, and all of their families as our top concern.

As a customer of Colson Group, we write to you today to provide a summary of updates as it pertains to our operations in China and the potential impact this outbreak may have on our Chinese manufactured goods. We are in continual contact with our local teams in China and will keep you updated on any advancements that could further impact product deliveries out of China.

  • Last week, Colson Group’s three Chinese facilities were all government approved to resume production—with safety being our top priority for our teams.
  • Our supply chain is moving quickly in the right direction, with the government speeding up application approvals, but many suppliers are not fully staffed as their employees are continuing to return to work. We expect most employees will be able to return by early March.
  • Completed products are being successfully transferred from our facilities to the port for shipment.
  • Although currently assessed at low risk due to advanced planning for Chinese New Year, potential delays of Chinese products not already manufactured or on the water could be up to 30 days; we will be updating delivery dates throughout this week to provide advanced notice on potentially impacted SKUs.
  • We continue to work closely with our supply chain to provide you with the best updates and will leverage our global footprint as much as possible to meet your requirements.

We ask that you please direct any question to your Regional Sales Manager or Account Manager and again thank you for your business and understanding in this difficult time.

Sincerely,

Colson Group