Wynnchurch Capital invests in Ladish Valves, Smith Valves and AIT brands

LPW Group, a Wynnchurch Capital portfolio company and the parent company of Penn Machine and Western Flange, announced the acquisition of El Mar Ventures (and its subsidiaries) and Advanced Industrial Technologies. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the Company provides specialty valves, pneumatic actuators and gears used in chemical, petrochemical, LNG, refining, renewable, pulp & paper and other industrial applications. The Company goes to market through its four leading brands: Ladish Valves, Smith Valves, AIT and Diamond Gear.
“We are extremely proud of the customer relationships we have built by focusing on quality, service, lead times and highly customized products. Our partnership with Wynnchurch will allow us to accelerate growth while continuing to provide our customers with unique solutions in critical applications. The entire team at Ladish, Smith and AIT are excited to embark on this next stage of our Company’s evolution,” said Ryan Scott, President of El Mar.
Mark Bowie, CEO of LPW, said, “Ladish, Smith and AIT are leaders in the delivery of specialty valves, actuators and gears on a quick turn basis. Their products are highly complementary to our existing product offering of fittings and flanges. The combination makes us a one-stop shop for our customers with growth opportunities in new end-markets. We are extremely excited to partner with Ryan and the team and look forward to enhancing value for our customers.”
Greg Gleason, Managing Partner at Wynnchurch, commented, “Ryan and the entire team have done a tremendous job creating a very unique player in the engineered valve space. They have demonstrated a track record of significant growth and we look forward to future success with the combined platform.”