Press Releases

KPS Capital Partners Agrees to Acquire Paladin Brands Holding, Inc. and Crenlo LLC from Dover Corporation, Announces Formation of International Equipment Solutions, LLC

Sep 07, 2011

New York, NY (September 7, 2011) -- KPS Capital Partners, LP ("KPS") announced today that, through a newly formed company, International Equipment Solutions, LLC and its affiliates (“IES”), it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire Paladin Brands Holding, Inc. (“Paladin”) and Crenlo LLC (“Crenlo”) from Dover Corporation (NYSE:DOV) (“Dover”). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Paladin is the leading independent North American provider of engineered attachment tools for operator-driven equipment serving a wide range of markets. Paladin operates four business units, each focused on specific markets and products. Paladin Construction Group serves the construction, landscaping, agriculture and aviation markets under industry leading brands, including Bradco®, McMillen®, FFC®, Sweepster®, Harley®, JRB®, C&P®, and CustomWorks®. Paladin Demolition and Recycling, through its Genesis® brand, serves the demolition and metal recycling markets. Paladin Utility, through its Pengo® brand, provides augers and related tools for utility and foundation drilling markets. Paladin Custom Material Handling, through its Jewell® brand, provides custom excavator packages for demolition, forestry and material handling markets.

Crenlo is a leading North America provider of steel cabs and roll-over protective structures (ROPS) and electronics enclosures for customers serving a wide range of markets. In the operator interface cab segment, Crenlo serves world class OEM customers in the construction, mining, agriculture and specialty truck markets. Crenlo, through its Emcor® brand, also manufactures electronic enclosures. Emcor provides standard catalog and custom products for customers serving the technology, aerospace, government and energy markets.

Raquel Palmer, a KPS Partner, said, “We are very excited to create International Equipment Solutions. IES, by acquiring Paladin and Crenlo, launches as the premier international engineered equipment manufacturer, with an industry leading portfolio of brands and an exceptionally strong reputation for quality, durability, delivery, product support and product innovation. We intend to grow IES aggressively both organically and through acquisition in North America and globally. The combination of the company’s exceptional operational expertise and strong customer relationships, combined with financial resources provided by KPS, will facilitate IES’s global expansion, especially in China, India and South America.”

David Burdakin, President and CEO of Paladin, said, “Our entire team at Paladin is pleased to move forward under KPS and excited about their commitment to manufacturing excellence and to supporting our future growth. We will remain focused on providing our customers with industry leading products and unsurpassed service.”

David Kilburn, President of Crenlo, said, “We are thrilled to work with KPS to further Crenlo’s ambitious growth initiatives. As part of the IES platform, we look forward to expanding Crenlo globally and to further strengthening the relationships we have today with our customers.”

The closing of the transaction is expected during the third quarter of 2011 and is subject to customary closing conditions.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP served as legal counsel to KPS and International Equipment Solutions, LLC and its affiliates.

About Paladin Brands Holding, Inc.

Paladin designs, engineers and manufactures attachment tools for heavy and light equipment with applications in the construction, agriculture, demolition, recycling, landscaping, aviation and utility end-markets. Paladin’s industry leading brands include Bradco®, McMillen®, FFC®, Sweepster®, Harley®, JRB®, C&P®, CustomWorks®, Genesis®, Pengo® and Jewell®. The Company’s products include buckets, couplers, trenchers, shears, augers, brooms, forks, grapples and many other attachment tools. Paladin’s customers include major international OEMs, independent and OEM-aligned dealers, and national equipment rental businesses. The Company has approximately 1,000 employees across 12 facilities in Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee, Oregon and Memmingen, Germany. For more information, please visit www.paladinbrands.com.

About Crenlo LLC

Crenlo LLC designs, engineers, and manufactures cabs and roll over protective structures (ROPS) as well as specialty electronic enclosures. The cabs business manufactures steel frame cab enclosures and roll-over protection structures primarily for applications in the construction, specialty truck, mining and agricultural end-markets. The specialty electronic enclosures business, through its Emcor® brand, designs and manufactures vertical racks, consoles, kiosks, and other custom products for applications in the air-traffic control, aerospace, defense and alternative energy end-markets. The Company’s customers include major international OEMs, systems integrators, and various end-market customers. The Company has approximately 680 employees at two facilities located in Rochester, MN. For more information, please visit www.crenlo.com.

About KPS Capital Partners

KPS, through its affiliated management entities, is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with approximately $19.7 billion of assets under management (as of December 31, 2024). For over three decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing.  KPS creates value for its investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage. The KPS Funds’ portfolio companies currently generate aggregate annual revenues of approximately $22.2 billion, operate 222 manufacturing facilities in 30 countries, and have approximately 58,000 employees, directly and through joint ventures worldwide (as of December 31, 2024, pro forma for recent acquisitions). The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.

← Back to Press Releases

footer-logo

One Vanderbilt Avenue, 52nd Floor
New York, NY 10017
T: 212.338.5100 | F: 646.307.7100

KPS does not offer to sell, or solicit offers to purchase, any investment products or securities through any social media platforms or other Internet-based applications (including, but not limited to Twitter (X), Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and YouTube).

The information set forth in the materials on this site is as of December 31, 2024 (portfolio company data is as of December 31, 2024, pro forma for recent acquisitions) and does not purport to be a complete summary of KPS or its investments. No representation, warranty or undertaking, express or implied, is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained in such materials. No reliance may be placed for any purpose on the information and opinions contained in such materials or their accuracy or completeness and nothing in such materials may be relied upon in making any investment decision. Certain information on or linked to from this site is furnished by or is derived from materials furnished by outside sources. KPS does not assume responsibility for independent verification of such information and has relied on such information being complete and accurate in all material respects. Any information presented by outside sources represents the understandings and opinions of such outside sources, which may differ from those of KPS. Any statements and quotes from third-parties are not selected on the basis of any performance-based data. Any performance information included in any document on or linked to from this site is presented for illustrative purposes only and is not indicative of the future returns of any of the funds managed by KPS and there can be no assurance that such funds will achieve comparable results, be able to avoid losses or be able to implement their investment strategies.

For information on our data processing practices, please read our privacy policy here.

To read our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement, please click here.

For more information on the “Explanatory Documents for KPS Investors V, Ltd under Article 63-4(3) of Financial Instruments and Exchange Act of Japan” please click here.

For more information on the “Explanatory Documents for KPS Investors VI, Ltd under Article 63-4(3) of Financial Instruments and Exchange Act of Japan” please click here (Form 21-3) and here (Form 20-2).

For disclosures pursuant to the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), please click here.