Presco Polymers Acquires Rhino Markers

Chattanooga, TN, March 29, 2021

       

River Associates Investments (“River Associates”), a longstanding lower middle market private equity firm based in Chattanooga, TN, announced the acquisition of Rhino Marking & Protection Systems (“Rhino”) by its Sherman, TX based portfolio company Presco Polymers (“Presco”).

The acquisition closed on March 5, 2021. River Associates and Presco worked diligently to complete the transaction in just under three months. Rhino is the third add-on acquisition for Presco. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Rhino is a Minnesota based manufacturer of marker posts and other related damage prevention products including surface markers, decals, and signage. Founded in 1990, Rhino’s products are used in a wide variety of end markets including Oil & Gas, Telecom, Waterworks, Electric, Power and Renewable Energy. Rhino will retain its current name and will continue operations at the manufacturing facility in Waseca, MN; sales and support services will continue to function out of the Bloomington, MN office.

“Presco is pleased to announce its recent acquisition of Rhino Marking & Protection Systems,” said Lisa McGregor, CEO of Presco. “The addition of Rhino is entirely aligned with Presco’s mission to grow as the leading provider of safety and damage prevention products. Rhino brings a broad line of innovative products and a highly effective team of resources. This acquisition will provide Presco’s customers with broader range of damage prevention solutions. The Presco family of companies is looking forward to serving existing and new customers by helping our customers make excavation safer for everyone.”

“The team at Rhino is thrilled at the opportunity to join the Presco family,” commented Scott Landes, Founder and President of Rhino. “To be able to merge our two entities and continue our mission to help our customers protect their infrastructure and save lives is not a step we take lightly. Rhino is eager for the next chapter of innovation and excellence with Presco.”
Together with its previous acquisition of Pro Line Safety Products (Pro Line) and William Frick (Frick), Presco is a well-known manufacturer of safety marking and damage prevention products. The addition of Rhino to the Presco family creates a leading safety marking products platform with superior scale and capabilities, allowing Presco to serve as a “one-stop-shop” for marking and damage prevention solutions provider for customers.

Formed in 1943, Presco manufactures safety marking products along with extruded engineered films and laminated products in two dedicated manufacturing facilities in Sherman, TX. These facilities house custom compounding and extrusion lines and over twenty custom stake flag and tape converting lines for Safety Marking Products. Pro Line, a late 2019 Presco acquisition, manufactures tracer wire and safety marking products including detectable and non-detectable tapes for underground marking and locating. William Frick, a late 2020 acquisition, is a manufacturer and value-add reseller of specialty labeling and marking products for the utility, OEM, aerospace, logistics, and asset management industries.

River Associates and the management team at Presco continue to seek complementary strategic acquisition partners for the company. For more information reach out to Mark Jones.