Investment funds Speyside Equity and Beckner Clevy Partners announced they have purchased Dalton Foundry Company in Warsaw, IN, from Neenah Enterprises Inc., including its dedicated machine shop in Stryker, OH. The value of the purchase was not announced. According to local reports the two private-equity groups have formed a holding company for the gray iron castings manufacturer, New Dalton LLC, the investors of which also include some former executives of the foundry.
"Dalton has a tremendous legacy and Speyside has a strong track record in the industry,” Jeffrey A. Stone, the managing director of that fund, stated in a release. “We are excited to partner with management to drive exceptional performance. The current environment for foundries is challenging, but Dalton has the capabilities to manage through this environment and create a sustainable path for the next 100 years."
Dalton Foundry is a 102-year-old business producing gray iron castings for the industrial, HVAC, agricultural, marine and construction markets, with reported annual revenues of $70 million.
The local reporting also details that the sale was preceded by several dozen layoffs of production and management staff, as the foundry scales down to a single shift (from two shifts). The Ohio machine shop continues to operate with two shifts.
“Nothing changes except ownership of the stock,” Beckner Clevy principal Mike Clevy offered to the Times-Union, Warsaw, IN. “The plan is to make it sustainable and grow the business. We’ve seen some tough times with the ‘ag’ business, it’s been losing money for a couple years, and we want to right the ship and make it a sustainable business going forward.”
Neenah Enterprises Inc., the parent of Neenah Foundry in Neenah, WI, acquired Dalton Corp. in 1998. It closed Dalton’s foundry in Kendallville, IN, in 2009.