Blue River Advises Concept on Acquisition of American Calibration

November 29, 2023 – Blue River Financial Group has advised Concept, the Midwest’s leading source for advanced manufacturing solutions, and portfolio company of Goldner Hawn, on the recent acquisition of American Calibration. The acquired business will retain leadership and autonomy while benefiting from investments and synergies that come from being part of the growing Concept family.

Concept is a leading value-added distributor and service provider for advanced machining, measuring, and automation equipment in the upper Midwest. Concept’s services include solutions for machine tools, metrology & inspection equipment, and additive manufacturing primarily for medical, aerospace, defense, powertrain, and industrial end markets. Concept is a distributor that provides its customers with the highest quality products and service expertise, offering a one-stop experience for manufacturers.

Goldner Hawn was founded in 1989 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and has been a source of private capital to leading lower middle market companies for the past 30 years. With an investment philosophy centered on the principle of partnership, Goldner Hawn is looking to back management teams of businesses with $5 million to $20 million of EBITDA in industries including industrial manufacturing, value-added distribution, consumer products and services, and outsourced business services. Goldner Hawn has made over 40 platform investments in companies with total transaction values approaching $3 billion.

American Calibration was founded in 1992, and today serves both Fortune 500 customers and small manufacturers, offering more than 350 types of accredited calibration (among the largest ISO 17025 scopes available) with the highest precision available.

Concept CEO Andrew Hecker said, “Bringing together services that complement the products we offer makes sense for all involved. Whether a customer is looking to make, measure, calibrate or automate, we’re now able to advise and support them more efficiently and comprehensively, and help them make the most of their equipment with education and training.”

“We are thrilled to join Concept, which shares the same commitment to excellence and professionalism as we do, expands our business to eight new facilities, and new customers. It’s a natural match,” stated Todd Gibson, American Calibration founder.

Rich Phillips, Managing Director with Blue River, said, “It was our pleasure to be working with the leadership of the Concept / Goldner Hawn teams on this transaction. For Concept, this partnership represents a meaningful expansion to their product offerings and opens up the opportunity to a national market. We’re excited for the successes in store for the Concept and American Calibration teams!”

“With continuous communication of vision and strategy, we were able to find a fantastic partner in Todd and American Calibration. This collaboration opens new doors for both and is truly a win win.” said Jim Loftis, Vice President at Blue River.

Contact

Sara Clevenger
Principal
sclevenger@goblueriver.com

About Blue River

Blue River Financial Group is a middle market merger and acquisition advisory firm. We assist corporations, private equity groups and individuals in the sale and acquisition of businesses, and have completed assignments in multiple business segments. With over 20 years of experience spanning across 50 global industries, Blue River provides a suite of services to middle market clients including corporate development, private equity support, valuations and transaction consulting, placing a premium on relationship-centered transaction counsel and client focus.

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