
BETHESDA, Md., and EVANSTON, Ill. — Rotunda Capital Partners announced Tuesday that it invested in Value Added Distributors LLC in partnership with the existing owners and management team.
Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Shawano, Wisconsin, VAD is a distributor of hoses, tubes, seals, couplings and related products to specialty vehicle OEMs and other mobile fluid power users. VAD operates 17 facilities across the Midwest and southern U.S. and provides highly value-added services like custom fabrication, assembly, kitting, and vendor-managed inventory solutions.
“Rotunda was searching for the right platform in the fluid power industry for several years driven by the highly technical nature of the products, diversified and growing end markets, and the highly fragmented nature of the industry,” said Rohit Dhake, principal at Rotunda. “VAD hit everything we were looking for - a leading position in the fluid power space, a diversified customer base, a long history of organic growth, heavy integration into their customers’ daily operations, and a top tier management team that knows what it takes to win.”
Mike Kostelnik, VAD founder and CEO, said, “We are excited about our partnership with Rotunda and the growth we can achieve together. We have a long history of organic growth within our core product categories, and we believe the resources from Rotunda will help us hasten that growth and better service our customers."
"Together, we believe we can expand into new geographies through both greenfield and acquisitions, continue expanding within our existing customers by out servicing the competitor, and further enhancing our service capabilities like fabrication, assembly, and VMI. It was clear from our first meeting that Rotunda would be a great partner that understands our business, our culture, and our commitment to the highest quality customer service.”
Kostelnik and his senior management team, including David Burt and Larry Lambie, will continue to lead the business.