May River Capital recently acquired Unibloc Pump, a manufacturer of positive displacement pumps, including food and chemical pumps for the tanker industry.
The Chicago IL-based private equity firm focuses on helping industrial businesses grow.
Unibloc, founded in 1984 by Harry Soderstrom, has built a reputation for innovation within critical sanitary process manufacturing applications, including the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, bakery and confection, meat and poultry, brewery, and transportation industries. Under Soderstrom’s leadership, the provider of precision-engineered products and solutions has enjoyed “significant” growth at its Atlanta-area headquarters and its secondary facility in Beckum, Germany, the company said.
“Unibloc Pump is launching a new and exciting chapter with May River Capital,” Soderstrom said. “May River’s approach to building business through collaboration is exactly what I was seeking as I looked ahead to the opportunities awaiting our company. We are pleased we’ve found a partner who values the engineering, skills, craftsmanship and most importantly, the culture we’ve nurtured here. This partnership will enable us to accelerate our growth initiatives and better serve our customers’ needs.”
Soderstrom will continue with Unibloc as chief growth officer, where he will apply his experience in driving growth for the company by identifying new markets, customers, products and business partners.
Chris Stevens, who excels at business-to-business marketing, channel management and sales, will join Soderstrom as chief executive officer, the company said.
“Harry’s years of industry expertise and leadership paired with Unibloc’s talented and hard-working employees have made the company the great success it is today,” Stevens said. “We are committed to building upon Harry’s rich legacy and investing in the resources to support the company’s continued growth.”
The acquisition follows Unibloc’s expansion in mid-December 2020. The company recently moved its U.S. operations into a state-of-the-art facility in Kennesaw GA, which is three times larger than its prior facility in Marietta, northwest of Atlanta. The new 41,000 square-foot facility supports leaders’ aligned vision for growth through ongoing investment in employees and the company.
“We have more than tripled our plant footprint to dramatically increase capacity to better serve our customers and expand to new markets,” Soderstrom said. “The new facility will also help Unibloc Pump maintain its competitive edge in the industry by attracting top talent in the region.”
Also serving in new leadership roles are Patrick Painter, chief financial officer, and Brian Comiskey, chief operating and technical officer.