Hamilton Robinson Acquires Davis-Standard

PAWCATUCK, Conn.—Davis-Standard, LLC announced that the company has been acquired by management and an investor group led by Hamilton Robinson LLC, a Stamford, Conn.-based private equity firm. The acquisition supports Davis-Standard’s strategy to grow its global converting and extrusion systems businesses as well as Chemtura Corporation’s decision to divest of a noncore business and focus instead on their specialty chemical business. “Chemtura has been an excellent partner. We especially appreciate the support and counsel of Bob Wood, Chemtura’s chairman and CEO as well as the guidance and advice of senior Chemtura executives Greg McDaniel and Arthur Wienslaw, who served ably on the Davis-Standard board of directors,” said Charles Buckley, president of Davis-Standard, LLC.

It has only been eighteen months since Davis-Standard and Black Clawson Converting Machinery, Inc. merged. “By any measure, the integration of these two companies has been a tremendous success and has paved the way for this transaction,” said Buckley.

Management’s outlook remains extremely positive as executing strategies continues to reduce lead times, win market share, and expand the business globally in support of existing and new customers. The new Davis-Standard will be more focused than ever on satisfying our customers. “When someone goes into Home Depot to buy a half-inch drill, we understand their real need is a half-inch hole. Likewise, Davis-Standard will continue expanding its technological leadership position to fulfill its vision of ‘Converting Customer Ideas into Successful Products,’” Buckley explained.

The new ownership structure will continue to be led by the existing Davis-Standard management team and the company’s financial strength will be preserved under the new capital structure. “Not only will the existing management team remain in place, it will also have plenty of skin in the game, owning more than 20 percent of the common equity,” said Buckley. “This is a very important ingredient for the future success of the company. A management team thinking and acting as owners is an empowered leadership team,” he added. The management ownership ranks are not limited to a few senior executives but include dozens of managers, and the company intends to offer the rewards of ownership to even more managers in the near future.