Headquartered in Grand Rapids, with an office in San Francisco,
Blackford Capital LLC is a private investment firm that acquires, manages and grows middle-market manufacturing, distribution and service companies. “Blackford’s biggest change in this past year undoubtedly has been its relocation from Southern California to western Michigan,” noted Martin Stein, managing director. Although most of its former staff did not move to Michigan, the firm found many qualified candidates, hiring from Western Michigan University, Grand Valley State University, Aquinas College and Calvin College as well as recruiting individuals from Brigham Young University and Boston College.
During the past five years, Blackford made approximately 20 investments, of which 70 percent were in the Midwest and the East Coast, and the vast majority of its investments are in manufacturing and industrial businesses. “We realized to thrive and position ourselves for success in the future, we needed to locate ourselves in the heartland of industrial America, much closer to the investments we expected to
be making in the coming decades,” Stein explained. “Blackford is a strong believer in the strength and resilience of American manufacturing. We recognize that this investment thesis puts us at odds with many current investment leaders in today’s changing marketplace and economy — American manufacturing is all too often derided. Nevertheless, we have been able to generate superior returns over time by investing in manufacturing businesses and helping them grow through engineering excellence within their industry, international expansion capabilities and differentiation through unique product and service niches.”
Blackford invests predominantly in old-line, hard-core manufacturing businesses, but it also was one of the first private equity firms in the world to invest in Navatar, a salesforce.com-based customer relationship management (CRM) software program to manage its deals and portfolio performance. “Generally, manufacturers and industrial businesses were some of the hardest hit during the recent economic downturn. Blackford viewed this as a temporary phenomenon and used it to bring success to our firm in four big ways,” Stein said. “We doubled the number of companies that we evaluated in the past year, from 2,000 to 4,000; increased our investment in manufacturing business by acquiring seven discrete manufacturing companies; reinvested capital into the engineering, sales and manufacturing operations in many of our manufacturing portfolio companies; and expanded our portfolio companies overseas.” For example, Amtech opened operations in China. BSI opened a European sales and distribution center. IPI pursued international clients more aggressively, and Source expanded its Asian operations.
www.blackfordcapital.com
Having recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, the law firm
Cardelli, Lanfear & Buikema P.C. is known for its trial attorneys’ proven record of success. One of its best growth opportunities in recent years was being named preferred counsel for United Technologies Corp., noted Thomas Cardelli, founding partner. With offices in Royal Oak and Grand Rapids, the practice’s clients include Otis Elevator Co., Carrier Corp. and Pratt & Whitney. “Michigan is still a population and technology center of industry, as well as a place that people want to live,” Cardelli said. “Some of the biggest challenges in the next year will include rising costs to do business, taxes on businesses and unemployment claims.” To better serve its clients, the law firm increased its use of digital dictation, remote server access and centralized email.
www.cardellilaw.com