Private Equity for the Middle Market

“Given my long history in building products, I knew there was a tremendous opportunity in 2008 to build a unique, best in class roofing platform by focusing on culture, the employee experience and superior customer service,” said SRS’ Chairman Ron Ross. “I chose AEA to be my partner based on their industry experience and prior successes in building businesses, as well as their shared vision for what SRS could become. Ultimately, we were successful in identifying the initial platform investment in Florida and then accelerating the growth via acquisitions and greenfields. AEA was a truly value-added partner using their strategic and capital resources to support our growth and really helped us achieve SRS’ mission to be the premier roofing distributor.”

“The team at AEA have been terrific business partners and friends for nearly twenty years. They have provided significant support to help us achieve our growth potential by encouraging us to be more aggressive in our organic growth opportunities, providing capital for acquisitions and helping us expand our business by developing strategies to enter new product lines, end markets and geographies.  I value our relationship and am pleased to support AEA over many years.”

“AEA has supported and encouraged investing for future growth, from key talent additions and expansion of R&D resources to strategic add-on M&A. This support has helped us drive new product introductions and expansion into adjacent technologies. AEA has been a genuine partner helping us build a best in class industrial technology company positioned for long term success.”

“AEA spent nearly a decade learning about our business and leveraging their knowledge of packaging to be a value-added partner for us. Working together, we took ProMach to a new level by expanding into new end market such as pharmaceuticals, leveraging their global capabilities to help us acquire new platforms in Europe and Asia, and implementing the ProMach Business System to take better advantage of our economies of scale. The investments they helped us make in our organization have enabled us to continue our robust growth trajectory even after their exit.”

“AEA was the ideal partner to support us in transforming Evoqua into the best-in-class leader that it is today. AEA’s experience in ownership transitions and sensitivity to the needs of all stakeholders helped ensure a successful outcome for Siemens as well as Evoqua’s management and employees. Under AEA’s ownership, Evoqua benefited from the extensive resources and unique global network of AEA, which enhanced our ability to successfully pursue numerous organic, inorganic, and operational excellence opportunities.”

“I have had the pleasure of being an investor with AEA for nearly 20 years and in that time have served on multiple portfolio company boards. AEA’s sector focus and global capabilities truly helped transform Dematic. They recognized from the outset the tremendous growth potential from warehouse automation driven by e-commerce. They capitalized on Dematic’s position as the global leader to further its differentiation by significantly increasing R&D investment, especially in software, as well as building out low-cost country engineering and manufacturing centers of excellence to enhance the customer value proposition. Dematic was truly a different, and more valuable, company at exit.”

“The team at AEA were phenomenal partners who saw the potential and vision in At Home when very few others did. They supported the significant transformation of the core business they had bought and helped us find the talent and resources to be able to turn the business into one of the leading specialty retailers in the country. I especially appreciated their focus on long term value which allowed us to make the investments we needed to be successful long after their exit.”

Burt’s Bees success story had many authors, first among those was AEA,” reflected John Replogle, CEO of Burt’s Bees. “Together we built a tremendous business by taking smart risks, leaning into principles and pioneering new ways of operating.  For me, the partnership with and unyielding support from the AEA team emboldened me to push a visionary strategy. They brought operating expertise, financial counsel and talent to the table to help us build a brand and business of unique value.

“I appreciated the tremendous partnership we had with our AEA team.  They worked with us to dramatically upgrade the talent on our team, expand our presence in the industry and supported several key acquisitions, always with a maintained focus on building the long-term value proposition of the company.  They are smart, savvy investors and partners who engage where they can add value without adding complexity and overhead.”

“I met AEA in 2016 when I was looking for a new partner to continue the disruption of the cooking industry and building of Traeger as a lifestyle platform overall. We valued AEA’s passion for our product and community, and their unique experience in brand building and thoughtful approach to channel strategy. Our partnership has extended across their organization and network to include operators with specific expertise in retail distribution, talent acquisition, supply chain, and finance. This support has been a helpful enabler of growth for us both organically and with accretive acquisitions in new accessory categories. It has been an absolute pleasure working with a team that really understands and embraces our mission.  Their credibility and integrity is unmatched and I’m thankful to call AEA not only trusted advisors but also great friends.”