LLR invests in Allmark Door, as warehouse demand rises in e-commerce era

LLR Partners will announce later this morning an investment in Allmark Door, a company that installs and services commercial doors and loading docks. PE Hub caught up with Katie Lankalis, a vice president at LLR, together with Tom Woodruff, the new chief executive of Allmark, to learn more about the company and why the Philadelphia PE firm is backing it.

Allmark was founded in 1993 to provide mission-critical repair, maintenance and replacement services for high-performance industrial doors, pedestrian doors and loading docks. It serves a wide range of customers in logistics and distribution, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, utilities, transportation and industrial sectors.

Demand for warehouses and distribution centers has risen in the covid era of e-commerce, driving LLR’s interest in Allmark.

“Some of the trends that we were looking at include the growth in e-commerce and the increasing volume of goods that are getting shipped across the country and the proliferation of distribution centers that are being built out,” Lankalis said.

Warehouse space is in short supply these days. For example, the logistics vacancy rate declined to an all-time low of 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, down 1.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2019, according to real estate developer Prologis.

And as more goods and services requiring warehouses go up, more opportunities will be created for Allmark, Lankalis said. Despite macroeconomic challenges, including inflation, Lankalis expects demand for Allmark’s services to surge.

Glitches in warehouse facilities are among many snags slowing down the supply chain. Not being able to get goods in and out of facilities just exacerbates the problems, Woodruff said.

“We make sure that the doors and loading dock equipment are properly maintained, serviced and properly installed to allow [customers] to have full usage of their facilities,” said Woodruff. He is joining Allmark from Reedy Industries, where he was the chief operating officer.

Allmark will pursue both organic and inorganic growth.

The company, which is headquartered in Springfield, New Jersey, will be looking to expand in the mid-Atlantic region, investing in additional employees as well as bringing new customers on board.

Allmark is also expected to prosper from the need for repairs, as wear and tear plays out in warehouse and distribution centers. “Regardless of whether we do [the initial installation], or we become the service provider, it’s a net benefit to us to growing the business,” Woodruff said.

Add-on deals are expected.

“We view this as a fragmented market where there are a large number of regional or local players that can be very interesting strategic partners and acquisitions for Allmark Door,” Lankalis said.