River Associates Acquires The Rubber Group
Chattanooga, TN, July 15, 2022
River Associates Investments, LP (“River Associates” or “River”), a longstanding lower-middle market private equity firm based in Chattanooga, TN, announced that it has acquired Humphrey’s Industrial Products, Inc. (D/B/A “The Rubber Group” or the “Company”). The transaction closed on July 15, 2022.
Based in Rochester, NH, The Rubber Group manufactures and distributes custom compression and injected molded rubber products, including grommets, bellows, bumpers, seals, and hoses. The Company’s products are often used in critical, high cost of failure applications across a broad range of end markets, including medical, oil and gas, general industrial, and transportation. The Company is ISO 9001 certified, ITAR compliant, and FDA registered.
“River has extensive experience helping companies like ours develop a growth strategy, and their style and approach gave me confidence we’d be able to maintain the incredible culture that we’ve built over the last 36 years. Finding the right partner was important to me.” said Rob Pruyn, Founder and CEO of The Rubber Group. “A transaction like this is a lot of work, but River was great to work with throughout the diligence process. This is an exciting inflection point for The Rubber Group, and we are excited to see what the future holds.”
“The Rubber Group is exactly the type of business River has been investing in for over 33 years” said Stuart Vyule, Principal at River Associates. “Their products are highly engineered and mission critical for demanding customer applications. The Company has built an outstanding reputation in the industry for their knowledge of elastomer processing, high quality products, and superior customer service. Their customer relationships span decades, and we are confident with the right people and focus we will be able to realize significant growth in the coming years. Rob and his team are going to be excellent partners, and we are looking forward to what we will be able to accomplish together.”
River funded the transaction with equity. Financing was provided by Bell Capital Finance, a division of Bell Bank. River Associates was advised by Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP. The Rubber Group was advised by Orr & Reno P.A.
The Rubber Group will seek to acquire businesses that manufacture similar or complementary products as referenced above. Please contact Mark Jones for additional information.