Monomoy Investments

Monomoy has never met a middle market business that we couldn’t help. Over the past four years, we’ve closed more than 25 transactions in multiple industries, acquiring companies through bankruptcy, corporate divestitures, recapitalizations and plain-vanilla stock or asset purchases. We bring certainty to any sales process, and we create value by working with management to make our portfolio companies stronger, more nimble, and more profitable.

Monomoy companies generate more than $1.2 billion in combined sales, employ over 5,000 team members and operate over 35 facilities in North America, Europe, India, Brazil and China.

This is all about the brownie. One of the largest privately-owned bakeries in the United States, Awrey supplies sweets and baked goods to major food distributors, national restaurant chains and retail outlets in North America and Asia. Monomoy acquired the assets of Awrey out of bankruptcy in partnership with Hilco Equity Management, spurred by the opportunity to bring professional management to a family-owned business and introduce lean manufacturing into the bakery industry. We continue to build Awrey with the goal of transforming a regional brand into a national presence. Today, Awrey is growing its sales and profit margins despite the recession. In 2009, we added Atkins Elegant Desserts to the Awrey family to give us greater reach into national restaurant chains — and a near-perfect cheesecake.

Hess makes the machines that make other machines. An important provider of equipment solutions to Fortune 100 manufacturers, Hess systems build and assemble wheels for cars and trucks, form and strengthen metal parts for home appliances, and automate the production of consumer goods. This investment excites us for a couple of reasons: Monomoy has deep experience in the capital equipment industry, and Hess has very few competitors. In the course of four years, we consolidated three Hess business units into a single company, reduced waste, and introduced professional management to a family-owned company. We also provided Hess access to some of the world's fastest growing markets: Asia and South America. With a new engineering and assembly facility in India and a sales office in China, Hess is a major player in Asia and is enjoying its strongest financial performance and backlog of orders.

U.S. and Canadian truck stops are a retail trove of trinkets for travelers, and Barjan fills them with more than 8,000 SKUs — toys, gadgets, books, DVDs, chemicals, additives, sunglasses and automotive accessories. Barjan is the leading distributor of retail merchandise to the truck stop and travel center industry and the largest manufacturer of CB radio antennae in the world. (Someone has to do it.) We contributed financial and operational expertise to bring a stronger product assortment to the sector, helped the company source products from Asia, and expanded distribution capabilities into other channels such as convenience stores and gas stations. Today, the company no longer struggles with debt and performance issues. With a new sourcing facility in China and the addition of Astatic Mobile Communications, Barjan is well-positioned for the future.

When Monomoy acquired Kurz-Kasch, it was a troubled and non-core division of a large public company-which obscured its enviable status as the worldwide leader in manufacturing electromagnetic components for heavy-duty diesel fuel systems. The company also makes high-grade thermoset plastic parts and can mold nearly any part required by any industry. Within a year of our acquisition, we added McLean Vehicle Systems and Macon Coil to grow the company's specialized, high-margin component business. We have consolidated ten Kurz-Kasch facilities into three locations in Ohio, substantially reducing operating costs and improving quality. Today, Kurz-Kasch is a critical supplier to original equipment manufacturers in a wide range of industries. It remains profitable despite the collapse of the basic vehicle market and well positioned to out-perform in an economic recovery.

Every time you buy flowers for your mother, a Monomoy investor smiles. That's because the arrangement is likely in a vase made by The Anchor Hocking Company, a portfolio company since 2007. Anchor is the largest maker of vases and candle jars in the country and the largest supplier of glassware to mass market retailers including Walmart and Target. Because Anchor sells value-based products, it remains thriving and profitable through the recession. Anchor's strong, experienced workforce-including a terrific sales staff-made the company an attractive investment. We acquired Anchor's assets from the bankruptcy of Global Home Products and contributed our expertise to reduce manufacturing, purchasing and other costs. Anchor made no money when we bought it. It makes money today. Strategic acquisitions of Indiana Glass and Alco Consumer Products allowed us to launch a new product line: the Anchor Home Collection of houseware accessories, available in 2010.

Yes, we actually own an auto component supplier that has remained healthy amid the worst industry collapse in history. Compass Automotive is a company Monomoy built out of four underperforming businesses in the automotive supply chain. Compass makes the metal components that allow you to steer and stop your car, including steering knuckles, steering wheels and steering columns. Compass supplies nearly every automotive company in North America with lightweight parts made of aluminum and magnesium, which makes cars more fuel efficient. We saved Compass from the automotive collapse through the relentless application of lean manufacturing and cost reduction. The company's focus on highly-engineered, safety-critical auto components ensures that it is well-positioned to prosper as the industry recovers.

Boston Apparel Group is a leading catalog and internet retailer of women's apparel and accessories sold under the value-priced Chadwicks, metrostyle and Casual Living brand names. All three brands have an avid following and maintain a substantial share of their niche markets. While clothes may make the woman, profits make the company. When we bought the business, Boston Apparel was a money-losing corporate orphan of a large French fashion conglomerate. By applying principles of lean manufacturing, we re-energized a significant retail brand and made the company profitable in nine months. We worked with the Boston Apparel's labor union to preserve jobs and we migrated sales from catalogs to the Internet. We acquired the Casual Living brand for Boston Apparel in early 2010. After consolidating Boston Apparel's two facilities, the company is a smaller but profitable business despite tremendous pressures on the retail sector.

Katun helps businesses save money on printing and copying expenses with low-cost replacement toner, printer cartridges and copier drums. As the pioneer of the aftermarket accessory space for printers and copiers, Katun maintains the dominant brand name and market share of off-brand accessories in the world. The company designs and engineers its products in the United States, sources them in Asia and sells them to over 18,000 customers in 150 countries. These — along with Katun's unique products and global reach — were the key reasons for Monomoy's acquisition. With our help, Katun has consolidated distribution centers and sales offices, improved product mix and introduced exciting new products. The company has also introduced a web-based selling program and reduced inventory across its global network from Amsterdam to Argentina. So, if you want to save money on printer and copier costs, check out Katun's products at kolc.katun.com.

"I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Plastics." By that, we mean Fortis Plastics, LLC, a custom plastic molder that provides compounding, molding and tool making solutions to customers in the appliance, furniture, building products, and medical device industries. Monomoy created Fortis from a collection of neglected assets: a division of a large public company, a bankrupt plastic molder, an underperforming Mexican competitor and a struggling resin compounder. All four businesses were hit hard by the downturn in manufacturing in 2008 and 2009 and provided us with an opportunity to build a sizeable plastic molder that will benefit from higher volumes in an economic rebound. In less than a year, we consolidated twelve facilities into eight core operations and completed two add-on acquisitions that dramatically improve the product offering. While the recession has decimated the plastics industry, Fortis is growing and making money.

Once a non-core division of Compass Automotive Group (another Monomoy company), SRC is the world's leading producer of fused magnesium flux, a critical chemical component in the production and recycling of magnesium and aluminum alloys. SRC also processes and resells magnesium chloride — MgCl₂, for those who remember their high school chemistry — for a wide range of applications, including the production of tofu. Spinning SRC into a standalone business has enabled us to focus on continued cost reduction, inventory management and sales growth. While currently our smallest investment, SRC has strong relationships with its largest suppliers and customers and can serve as a platform for further acquisitions in the specialty chemicals space. SRC has performed well as an independent company and continues to grow.