Bertram Labs
Transaction Represents Third Add-On Acquisition for Rowmark Platform
San Mateo, CA and Findlay, OH, February 4, 2016 – Rowmark LLC (“Rowmark”), a portfolio company of Bertram Capital and a leading manufacturer and marketer of engravable plastic sheet materials, announced that it has purchased Bur-Lane Inc. (“Bur-Lane”) effective January 7, 2016. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, Bur-Lane is a national distributor of engraving plastic and identification accessories and supplies, with four warehouse locations serving the entire United States.
“Within the engraving industry, the Rowmark brand name is synonymous with quality and excellence” stated Bryan Morris, Bur-Lane President. “By aligning with Rowmark, we are now able to offer Bur-Lane customers a broader array of engraving sheet with increased quality and product availability. We look forward to better serving our customers by leveraging the increased resources available to us with this partnership.”
“We have enjoyed a long-term partnership with Bur-Lane, and we are excited to utilize Bur-Lane’s knowledge and capabilities to provide greater proximity, choice and value for our customers.” noted Duane Jebbett, Rowmark President and CEO. “This is part of our global strategy to ensure we support our loyal customers with the broadest line of high quality sheet products through our network of Rowmark-owned distribution in conjunction with our dedicated independent distributors.”
“The Morrises have done a tremendous job building a distribution business with national coverage that is recognized for exceptional customer service.” said Kevin Yamashita, Partner at Bertram Capital. “This transaction is a highly complementary add-on for the Rowmark platform, and was one of our top acquisition candidates.
“This transaction showcases the Bertram High-5SM buy-and-build strategy by adding significant scale and synergies to our base business through accretive add-on acquisitions,” said Jeff Drazan, Managing Partner at Bertram Capital. “With this acquisition, and the acquisitions of Johnson Plastics and Laserbits last year, Rowmark is continuing its vertical integration of the channel and manufacturing of the highest quality plastic sheet.”
The Bertram Capital and Rowmark teams remain focused on pursuing additional strategic acquisitions, including manufacturers of engravable materials or personalization products; suppliers of consumable products and accessories; providers of sublimation products and accessories; and manufacturers of marking or digital print equipment.
About Rowmark
Founded in 1987, Rowmark is a leading manufacturer of extruded sheet materials servicing the engraving and custom decorative markets. The company’s products include a comprehensive portfolio of materials ideally suited for signage and other laser, engraving and digital print applications. Visit www.rowmark.com for more information.
About Bur-Lane
Bur-Lane is a nationwide distributor engraving plastic and identification accessories and supplies to the engraving, awards and other specialty markets. The company is headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK with warehouse locations in California, Oklahoma and Florida. Visit www.bur-lane.com for more information.
About Bertram Capital
With over $850 million in committed capital, Bertram Capital is a private equity firm targeting investments in lower middle market companies. By supplying flexible investment capital and committing a wealth of operational and strategic resources to each investment, we make it our core objective to move companies, management teams, and employees toward unlocking their full potential. Visit www.bcap.com for more information.
Media Contact:
David Hellier
Bertram Capital
(650) 358-5000
