New State Capital invests in Central Conveyor Company

New State Capital Partners has made an undisclosed investment in Central Conveyor Company. Based in Brighton, Michigan, Central Conveyor Company is a provider of custom material handling and storage retrieval systems as well as automated conveyance solutions.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK and BRIGHTON, MI – December 16, 2014 – New State Capital Partners, LLC, a private investment firm providing flexible capital solutions to growing mid-sized companies, today announced that it has completed an investment in Central Conveyor Company, a leading designer and integrator of custom material handling and storage retrieval systems, and automated conveyance solutions.

Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed. This represents the third investment made by New State Capital in 2014.

Founded in 1993 and with global headquarters in Brighton, Michigan, Central Conveyor Company is a preferred provider to many customers given its differentiated offerings, services and end-to-end capabilities. The Company leverages its extensive system design, engineering, project management and system start-up skills and experience to produce both standalone systems and fully integrated solutions for existing manufacturing lines. Central Conveyor’s core service offerings include system integration and layout design services, mechanical and electrical system repair and installation, health assessment of existing systems, and ongoing service and maintenance. Central Conveyor operates a secondary facility in Bessemer, Alabama, and has been involved with both greenfield projects and retrofits of aging facilities throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

“We are excited to enter into this partnership with Central Conveyor Company,” said David Blechman, Partner of New State Capital. “This is a well-run, profitable and growing business with an outstanding management team. We are deeply impressed by the strategic vision the founder, Larry Estes, and CEO, Rick Wells, have for the business as well as their year-to-year execution. Importantly, there is complete alignment in how our teams think about driving continued growth and further enhancements in customer service, and how we will partner to continue to build Central Conveyor’s market leadership going forward.”

“Having explored several options for growing our business, we found a true partner in New State Capital Partners, whose investment will allow our management to stay involved in a meaningful way as well as participate in the upside as we build the business,” said Estes, who will remain actively involved going forward. “We greatly appreciate their understanding of the need family businesses have for flexible financial solutions as well as their proven operational expertise and track record. We are thrilled to have New State Capital as our partners.”

“With New State Capital’s backing, we will be in a better position to execute fully on a number of important growth initiatives already underway,” said Wells, who will continue to lead the business as CEO, together with the existing management team. “We plan to grow our business with current customers via existing and new channels, diversify into new industry sectors, and establish a footprint in high potential markets such as Canada and Mexico. We are proud of our success to date, and enthusiastic about continuing the growth at Central Conveyor with a strong partner at our side.”

About Central Conveyor Company
Central Conveyor Company (www.centralconveyor.com) designs and builds customized, material handling systems, storage retrieval systems and automated conveyance solutions for the automotive and other industries. The Company’s conveyors can either be designed and engineered as a standalone unit, or fully integrated with an existing manufacturing line. Central Conveyor Company was established in 1993 and has been involved with projects throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom. The Company’s two facilities in Brighton, Michigan, and Bessemer, Alabama, total over 77,000 square feet for fabrication, assembly, testing, and installation. The Company was recognized by Chrysler Group, LLC as a 2014 Finalist for Supplier of the Year at its 4th Annual Strategy Meeting & Supplier Awards.

About New State Capital Partners
New State Capital Partners, LLC is a private investment firm that provides flexible capital solutions to leading middle market companies in the business services, healthcare services and industrial industries to support their growth via minority or majority investments. The firm brings deep investment experience, including the structuring of control and growth buyouts,
co-investments/shared governance, corporate carve-outs, preferred/junior debt, and restructurings. The senior team has an average of more than 20 years experience in private equity, investment banking, restructuring and operations gained with premier global and U.S. companies. For more information, see: www.newstatecp.com