Transom Capital-Backed SemiTorr Acquires McKenna Engineering & Equipment Co.Inc
May 4, 2021

LOS ANGELES – May 4, 2021 – Transom Capital Group-backed SemiTorr today announced that it has acquired McKenna Engineering & Equipment Co. Inc. , which serves industrial and food & beverage customers throughout California and Nevada. This is SemiTorr’s third add-on acquisition since being acquired by Transom Capital Group, a leading operations-focused middle market private equity firm, in December 2018.

James Oh, Partner at Transom, said, “We are excited about the continued organic growth of SemiTorr as well as executing on our inorganic strategy.  Partnering McKenna with SemiTorr provides attractive opportunities for both suppliers and customers in the market.  We look forward to continuing the growth of the McKenna business via its new relationship with SemiTorr.”

McKenna is a distributor, manufacturers’ sales representative, fabricator, and installer of process equipment used for handling air, gas, liquids, and dry bulk solids. Formed in 1978, McKenna services several industrial end markets, including oil and gas, petrochemical, chemical, construction, food, utility, waste treatment, aerospace & defense, and more. McKenna brings top sales, engineering, and design capabilities across a variety of leading products lines to ensure performance for its customers.

Upon closing of the transaction, Kevin Waddell, Chief Executive Officer of SemiTorr, remarked, “McKenna Engineering will be a transformative acquisition as SemiTorr continues to grow and diversify its business.  McKenna’s three companies will serve as the west coast “anchor” for SemiTorr’s industrial business in its abilities to serve the California marketplace.  Additionally, the union of SemiTorr’s and McKenna’s customers across high purity, sanitary and industrial segments, combined with the union of SemiTorr’s and McKenna’s product lines presents a myriad of exciting cross-selling and relationship expanding opportunities.  Lastly, McKenna brings valuable capabilities in engineering, design, fabrication, installation, service and repair that SemiTorr will be looking to expand into Northern California, the West and ultimately into other geographies as those opportunities present themselves.”

Ed McKenna, McKenna’s CEO, said, “To remain successful and continue growing into the future, McKenna Companies needed to align itself with a strategic partner willing to make the investments required in order to remain competitive in a changing distribution market.  SemiTorr is this partner. This is exactly the type of synergistic buyer McKenna Companies needed. SemiTorr is a customer-focused sales and distribution company with a strategy to further develop its industrial market in California and Western Nevada.  I am excited about this partnership going forward.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. SemiTorr was represented by Barnes & Thornburg LLP as M&A counsel on this transaction, and McKenna was represented by Musick, Peeler & Garrett. Bank of America provided the debt financing for the transaction.

About Transom Capital Group
Transom is a leading operations-focused private equity firm in the middle market with more than $600 million in assets under management as of May 2021. The firm’s functional pattern recognition, access to capital, and proven ARMOR Value Creation Process combine with management’s industry expertise to create improved operational efficiency, significant top-line growth, cultural transformation and overall distinctive outcomes. Transom is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

About SemiTorr Group, Inc.
SemiTorr was founded in 1988. Originally serving the Pacific Northwest, SemiTorr has expanded nationally to support a wide array of markets throughout the United States. This expansion has been both organic with key suppliers and via acquisition; including Tru-Flow and M-I-C, SemiTorr has completed five acquisitions over the last seven years, focused on sanitary and industrial markets. As a result, SemiTorr currently has ten distribution centers in Tualatin, OR, Livermore, CA, Chandler, AZ, Lehi, UT, Albuquerque, NM, Denver, CO, Austin, TX, Manassas, VA, Allentown, PA and Clifton Park, NY.