(April 1, 2011) – Rockwood Equity Partners announced that its portfolio company, DeZURIK, has acquired the products and operations ofAPCO Willamette, a leading producer of check valves, air valves and AWWA ball valves. The acquisition of APCO, which includes a manufacturing plant in Schaumburg, Ill. and a sales office in San Clemente, Ca., further solidifies DeZURIK’s position as a global leader in the water, wastewater and industrial valve industries. The APCO and Willamette names will be retained as part of the DeZURIK brand portfolio.
Founded in 1928 and based in Sartell, Minn., DeZURIK is a worldwide leader in manufacturing water and wastewater treatment valves, as well as pulp, paper, chemical, petrochemical, mining and other process industry valves. In 2004, Rockwood partnered with Granite Equity Partners to acquire DeZURIK from its parent company. Over the following six years, DeZURIK has more than doubled its sales through product line expansions and enhanced customer service.
APCO represents a strategic expansion of DeZURIK’s capabilities in providing complementary products to its existing portfolio of product offerings. APCO is DeZURIK’s second add-on acquisition in the past two years, and Rockwood will continue to support management’s growth plans through both internal sales initiatives and additional targeted acquisitions.
Founded in 1999, Rockwood Equity Partners is a private investment firm with offices in Cleveland and New York City. The firm is focused on investing in lower middle market companies with revenues typically between $10 million and $70 million. Its approach is to partner with strong management teams and provide support and resources as they build their businesses. Rockwood is particularly interested in privately-owned companies in need of an ownership transition and divisions of larger companies that no longer fit their parent company’s strategic direction.