Guardian acquires Western Shelter Systems and CrewBoss from Gorge

Gorge Holdings has sold Western Shelter Systems and CrewBoss to Guardian Capital Partners. No financial terms were disclosed. Western Shelter is a provider of turnkey shelter and custom mobile solutions for emergency responders, military and commercial customers. And, CrewBoss designs and manufactures personal protective equipment for men and women in the fire service. Both are headquartered in Eugene, Oregon.

PRESS RELEASE

Portland, Oregon – November 14, 2019 – Gorge Holdings (“Gorge”), announces the sale of Western Shelter Systems and CrewBoss (“Company”) to Guardian Capital Partners (“Guardian”). The leadership team that successfully doubled revenue in less than seven years will continue to operate and grow the businesses with the additional capital and resources of Guardian.

Headquartered in Eugene, OR, Western Shelter Systems, (https://www.westernshelter.com), designs, manufactures, and distributes a complete line of turnkey shelter and custom mobile solutions for emergency responders, military and commercial customers. CrewBoss, (https://crewbossppe.com), designs and manufactures premier personal protective equipment including wildland firefighting clothing and station wear for the toughest men and women in the fire service.

The Company was acquired by Gorge in partnership with Barry Hendrix and the existing leadership team in 2013 with an eye toward professionalizing and growing an already successful company. Gorge and the team focused on investing in talent, systems, products and markets over the course of their investment. Michael Scala, CEO, was recruited in 2015 to lead the company and has successfully built a team and operation poised for the next level of growth. “We are proud of what we have accomplished, growing and building a company supporting customers who serve others. The team is energized for the next evolution in this exciting story,” stated Michael.
Commenting on the deal, David Altman, Principal with Gorge, stated “We are pleased to have identified and secured a strong partner for the leadership team – Guardian is focused on continuing to expand the Company’s capabilities and reach. This successful outcome is a testament to the leadership team’s dedication to the business.”

Richard Diforio, Principal with Gorge, commented “It has been a pleasure partnering with the Western Shelter Systems and CrewBoss leadership team for the last 7 years. We are grateful for the team’s efforts in transforming the business and proud to have been part of this phase of the Company’s growth. We look forward to their continued success.” DC Advisory, (https://www.dcadvisory.com), served as exclusive financial advisor and Hathaway Larson, (https://www.hathawaylarson.com), provided the legal and transaction services to Gorge and the Company.

About Gorge Holdings (www.gorgeholdings.com)
Gorge has been part of the private equity investment environment in the Pacific Northwest since 2003. They attribute their continued success to years of relationship-building, persistence, a criteria-based evaluation process, operating experience and keen partner and talent selection and building. Gorge focuses on partnering with product-based potential platforms with revenues below $25MM and over $1MM EBITDA, that may not have the current resources to make the next level of growth possible. More information on Gorge Holdings is available at http://www.gorgeholdings.com.