FdS Acquires Anderson Manufacturing
This deal aims to expand Anderson’s reach among NAFTA partners and grow the U.S. business of FdS.
Posted: April 20, 2018
Ferriere di Stabio SA (FdS; Stabio, Switzerland), a privately-held European manufacturer of stainless steel, special alloys, and standard and special bolts that serves the automotive industry and others, has purchased Anderson Manufacturing (Bristol, WI), a specialty manufacturing business. FdS also has international metals operations in Switzerland, France, Italy, China, Brazil, Mexico and the United States. Anderson Manufacturing operates a 52,000 sq ft facility where they run three shifts daily. In addition to the automotive industry, they provide engineered fasteners and components for the electronics, medical, furniture, battery, appliance, housewares and hardware industries.
The purchase of Anderson was completed in early April. “We were attracted to their solid history of developing specialty fasteners for the automotive industry,” said Roberto Marzorati, one of the owners of FdS. “Our plans are to invest in a business development program targeting the automotive industry while adding the customers we currently serve. We will also add new technology to the plant to reach a state-of-the-art model.”
Ferriere di Stabio is part of a larger worldwide group of companies that includes Novametal SA (Rancate, Switzerland), a manufacturer of metal alloy wires, and Cogne Acciai Speciali Spa (Aosta, Italy), one of the world’s leading producers of stainless steel bars, wire rods and other products. “Our five-year plan for Anderson will expand their reach among NAFTA partners and provide us with additional opportunities to grow our business in the U.S.,” added Marzorati.
“We have a real expertise in very specialized and complex cold-formed fasteners,” said Tim Cash, the current president of Anderson who will continue in his leadership role as the company expands. “This is the next logical step in our evolution as a company and I’m looking forward to continued growth.” Anderson was founded in 1976 and sold in 2015 when the original owner retired. They were then purchased by a private equity firm and were part of a failed roll-up strategy before the owners of Big Shoulders Capital LLC (Northbrook, IL) purchased them in 2017. David Muslin and Todd DiBenedetto invested new capital into the company and kept them operating profitably.
“We invested in Anderson because we saw the opportunity to invest in a company with a demonstrated track record of success and a high ceiling for the future,” explained Muslin. “Once the business was stabilized, we identified a company with strategic synergies which we felt could take them to the next level of growth.”
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