May River Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm, has acquired Unibloc Pump, a US manufacturer of positive displacement pumps, strainers, valves, bubble traps and other solutions for sanitary flow control applications.
Founded in 1984 by Harry Soderstrom, Unibloc Pump is headquartered in Kennesaw, Georgia with a second facility in Beckum, Germany.
The company’s markets include the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, bakery and confection, meat and poultry, brewery, and transportation industries.
“Unibloc Pump is launching a new and exciting chapter with May River Capital,” said Soderstrom. “May River’s approach to building business through collaboration is exactly what I was seeking as I looked ahead to the opportunities awaiting our company. We are pleased we’ve found a partner who values the engineering, skills, craftsmanship and most importantly, the culture we’ve nurtured here. This partnership will enable us to accelerate our growth initiatives and better serve our customers’ needs.”
Soderstrom will continue with Unibloc Pump as chief growth officer, where he will focus on finding new markets, customers, products and business partners.
Chris Stevens will join the Unibloc Pump leadership team as CEO, working with Soderstrom. Patrick Painter will serve as chief financial officer and Brian Comiskey as chief operating and technical officer.
“Harry’s years of industry expertise and leadership paired with Unibloc’s talented and hard-working employees have made the company the great success it is today,” said Stevens. “We are committed to building upon Harry’s rich legacy and investing in the resources to support the company’s continued growth.”
May River Capital, which focuses on investing in lower middle-market, industrial growth companies, acquired US submersible pump provider BJM Pumps LLC in 2017.
