Willis & Smith Capital Acquires J&E Manufacturing (with First Capital Partners financing)

Willis & Smith Capital Acquires R&B Grinding

February 7, 2022

Manufacturing

Willis & Smith Capital, a Plano-based private equity firm, acquired R&B Grinding, a Racine, Wisconsin-based manufacturer of precision machined components; the transaction closed on February 1, 2022. The Biddle Family sold the business and will retain certain senior managers, while Willis & Smith named operating partner Gene Simon as CEO to support the company's next growth phase and continuity for employees and customers.

Willis & Smith Capital Acquires Performance Stamping

August 8, 2023

Manufacturing

Willis & Smith Capital acquired Performance Stamping, LLC, a Carpentersville, Illinois-based metal stamping provider; the transaction closed on August 7, 2023. Performance Stamping's existing management will remain in place (Peter Martel as CEO; founder Scott Spencer to stay on as an advisor), and the company will be added to Willis & Smith’s fabrication and machining platform alongside J&E Companies.

LFM Capital Invests in J&E Precision Tool

January 9, 2020

Manufacturing

LFM Capital has made a control investment in J&E Precision Tool, adding the precision machining company to its portfolio to support growth and capability investments. J&E, based in Southampton, Massachusetts, supplies precision components to aerospace, defense, and other high-precision end markets and has appointed Sean Holly as CEO as part of the partnership.

First Capital Partners and Willis & Smith Capital Recapitalize TPE Midstream

April 20, 2021

Industrial Services

First Capital Partners provided mezzanine debt and equity to support a majority recapitalization of TPE Midstream, LLC in partnership with Willis & Smith Capital and TPE founders Doug Sahm and Brad Sando. TPE, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, manufactures, sells and rents the ZEVAC zero-emission vacuum and compressor equipment used by large utilities and pipeline operators to mitigate methane emissions.

JLL Partners Acquires Jonathan Engineered Solutions from Levine Leichtman Capital Partners

January 4, 2021

Aerospace & Defense

JLL Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, has acquired Jonathan Engineered Solutions (JES), a designer and manufacturer of ruggedized enclosures, slides, and vibration isolators used in defense, aerospace and specialty industrial applications. JES is headquartered in Irvine, California with approximately 900 employees; JLL plans to use JES as the base of a new aerospace and defense manufacturing platform and to invest in capacity, technology and strategic acquisitions. Levine Leichtman Capital Partners sold its portfolio company to JLL Partners.

LFM Capital Portfolio Company J&E Precision Tool Acquires Alloy Specialties and Beranek

April 30, 2021

Manufacturing

J&E Precision Tool, an LFM Capital portfolio company, has completed acquisitions of Alloy Specialties Inc. (Manchester, Connecticut) and Beranek Inc. (Torrance, California). The add-on deals expand J&E’s national footprint, precision machining capabilities, and customer relationships across aerospace, defense, and space end markets; financial terms were not disclosed.