Specialty Welding and Turnarounds, LLC (SWAT), a leading provider of highly technical maintenance services to the chemical, refinery, renewable, and industrial markets, announced today the acquisition of Midwest Cooling Tower Services (MWCTS or Midwest) from Dorilton Capital. Headquartered in Krotz Springs, Louisiana, and with operations across the U.S., Midwest is a leading provider of mission-critical cooling tower solutions, including inspection, maintenance and repair, specialty distribution, and rental.
“Midwest has been a leading provider of cooling tower services for decades with a strong reputation for excellent inspection and maintenance execution. Along with its critical components inventory and cooling towers rental fleet, the company is well-differentiated as a key player in the industry,” said Marcus Deal, CEO of SWAT. “With this acquisition, we will now be able to provide high-quality cooling tower services as a core part of our offering. We are excited to extend SWAT’s technical capabilities into this attractive market by supporting Midwest’s exceptional management and operations team.”
On a combined basis, SWAT will employ over 2,100 people. The combined entity will have a long-standing blue-chip customer base across the U.S.
“As we sought out a new partner for our next chapter, we felt SWAT strongly aligned with our values, including our shared focus on safety, customer service and employee engagement,” said Danny Wiltz, President of Midwest. “We have a lot of pride in what Midwest has grown to. The company was started by our father nearly 35 years ago, so it was important for us to find a partner who was focused on our future and also appreciates our history,” added Paul Wiltz, Vice President of Midwest. At the close of the transaction, Danny Wiltz and Paul Wiltz will continue to lead the business under the SWAT platform.
“Midwest is a great fit with the broader offering of SWAT’s existing industrial maintenance service lines provided by an outstanding workforce of highly trained and experienced specialists,” said Craig Kahler, Managing Director of ORIX Capital Partners, whose managed fund acquired SWAT in January 2020 in partnership with Hastings Equity Partners and the SWAT management team. “This acquisition supports our strategic growth plan to expand technical industrial maintenance capabilities across a diversified customer base, while assisting leading industrial companies maintain safe, compliant and efficient facilities.”
Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to ORIX Capital Partners and SWAT on this transaction. Jones Day served as legal counsel and Stifel served as financial advisor to Midwest. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Specialty Welding and Turnarounds
Founded in 2014, SWAT has evolved into an elite and trusted provider of highly specialized turnaround services with an industry-leading safety record, superior execution capabilities, and a wide range of specialty welding and mechanical service offerings. The company currently has master service agreements with more than 50 U.S. facilities, including some of the world’s largest oil refineries, and maintains multiple touchpoints across its key customer relationships. SWAT has a diverse geographic presence with offices in Louisiana, Texas, and California, a coverage area spanning more than 14 states and a nationwide craft labor database of over 4,000 highly experienced professionals.
Midwest Cooling Tower Services
Founded in 1984, MWCTS is a leading provider of inspection, repair and rental services for cooling towers. Based in Krotz Springs, LA, Midwest services leading chemical, refinery, agriculture, and other industrial customers across the U.S. It also supplies components to over 85 other cooling tower companies and contractors in the U.S. and more than 110 partners around the world. Midwest has a dedicated workforce of approximately 450 employees.
ORIX Capital Partners
ORIX Capital Partners (OCP), the operationally-focused private equity team of ORIX Advisers, LLC and a wholly-owned subsidiary of ORIX Corporation USA (ORIX USA), manages a fund that seeks to make direct equity investments in established middle-market companies throughout North America, spanning a variety of industries, including industrial services, business services, and general industrials.
Hastings Equity Partners
Hastings Equity Partners is a private equity firm focused on investing in lower, middle-market industrial service and business services segments. Hastings’ approach is to leverage the firm’s managers and investors’ extensive operational experience, many of whom are active or former CEOs of Fortune 1000 companies. In addition, due to the firm’s expanding portfolio of industrial service and business service companies, it is able to share best practices, technology trends, and contacts across its platform to ensure that all of its investments benefit.
Dorilton Capital
Dorilton is a private investment firm that invests in businesses across a range of industry sectors, working in partnership with management to grow value over the long-term. By providing funding and expertise to drive growth, Dorilton helps its companies and its people achieve their full potential