Construction Equipment Guide
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Mon September 11, 2006 - National Edition
Norwest Equity Partners (NEP) has sold its portfolio company, Paladin Brands Holding Inc., an independent designer, manufacturer and supplier of construction equipment attachments, to Dover Resources, a subsidiary of Dover Corporation, a manufacturer of industrial products. The transaction closed on Aug. 30.
David Ropp, CEO and president at Dover Resources, stated, “On behalf of Dover, we are thrilled about the addition of Paladin to our family of companies. The suite of products and brands that Paladin offers complements our other businesses. We have been impressed with its growth and performance, as well as its ability to continue to focus on superior customer service.”
Headquartered in Cedar Rapids, IA, Paladin began operations in 1965 and is an independent manufacturer of construction attachment products such as augers, backhoes, trenchers, excavator buckets and mobile shears. Paladin employs approximately 1,500 people and has 19 manufacturing facilities in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Tennessee, Ohio, Oregon, Wisconsin and Mexico. Paladin also has a global sourcing office located in Shanghai, China.
Each of the Paladin brands, Badger, Bradco, C&P, FFC, Genesis, Harley, JRB, Jewell, McMillen, Pengo, Sweepster and The Major, manufacture and distribute broad families of attachments for application in the forestry, light and heavy construction, utility and utility contractors and demolition and recycling markets.
All of the brand products are distributed through a national base of independent dealers, distributors, rental companies and original equipment manufacturers.
NEP initially invested in Paladin (formerly named Attachment Technologies Inc.) in October 2003.
Timothy DeVries, NEP managing general partner and Paladin board member, stated, “Paladin has done a great job of establishing its niche and growing to become the industry leader within the construction attachment sector. We have created value in several ways over the last three years, and we know that the company is well-positioned for continued growth under Dover’s leadership.”
Bill Van Sant, Paladin’s chairman, stated that the Paladin management team is also excited about the new partnership with Dover, especially Dover’s track record of letting its companies operate autonomously.
“Dover offers us such a breadth of resources and expertise,” he said. “It’s a terrific fit for Paladin. I know that we will integrate well with Dover, from both a business and culture perspective.”
Greenhill & Co. LLC served as financial advisor to Paladin and Faegre & Benson LLP provided legal services to Norwest Equity Partners in this transaction.
Norwest Equity Partners sold another one of its portfolio companies, WARN Industries Inc., to Dover Resources in October 2003.
For more information, visit www.nep.com.