2024 was a year of platform growth and operational depth for Shorehill Capital LLC (“Shorehill”) and our portfolio companies. We added a new platform investment, upgraded operational talent across every portfolio company, welcomed two new team members, and were recognized by Inc. magazine for the sixth time. As Business Builders, we prioritize helping businesses prosper by assembling strong management teams, instilling a culture of continuous improvement, and developing paths to above market growth.

 

Shorehill’s Newest Platform: Estex Manufacturing

Estex Manufacturing (“Estex”) joined the portfolio in late 2024. Based in Fairburn, Georgia, Estex is a branded manufacturer and supplier of industrial sewn products including tool bags, personal protective equipment, and other products mainly serving the utility sector in addition to airline, government/military, and sport markets.

Estex was founded in 1900 as a manufacturer of products for the horse and buggy market, and has evolved with the times. It entered the power utility industry in the 1940s by repurposing their feed bags as utility linemen’s tool buckets. The company also serves the airline market selling baggage cart curtains and accessories, loading bridge solutions, and ramp and safety products. Today the business sells over 4,000 products to all major US utilities and airlines and is recognized as the leader in quality and service within its core end markets.

 

Read the full Estex acquisition announcement, or visit Estex at www.estexmfg.com.

 

Shorehill Recognized For Sixth Time By Inc. As A Founder-Friendly Investor

Shorehill Capital was included for the sixth time on Inc. Magazine’s Founder Friendly Investor List¹. Our repeated inclusion on this list highlights our sustained commitment to building strong, collaborative partnerships with founders and entrepreneurs. We are the only Chicago-based private equity firm to be featured on the list in each year since Inc. initiated the list in 2019.

 

Sean McCarthy And Robert Jackson Win The Salmon Bear Award

This year Shorehill introduced an annual Salmon Bear Award. Unlike a circus bear, an Alaskan Brown Bear must hunt salmon to survive. Success requires focus, innovation, and relentlessness. This is also true in private equity.

Sean McCarthy earned the award for his 2023 efforts associated with launching Shorehill Fund II. Robert Jackson was the 2024 winner due to his new investment success with both Ascent Lifting and Estex.

 

Creating Value Across Our Portfolio

Across Ascent Lifting, Flexpak, Triad Technologies, Tribus Aerospace, Estex, and Functional Devices, our 2024 value creation work centered on four areas.

• Multiple portfolio companies completed warehouse efficiency projects, increasing order flow and optimizing capacity.
• During 2024, each portfolio company upgraded operational talent, hiring key executives and mentoring and coaching existing operational leadership.
• Several portfolio companies completed strategic pricing programs that led to strong gross margin improvement.
• Completed seven ERP conversions, launched business intelligence tools across the companies, and upgraded CRM, HR, and transportation systems.

 

New Team Members

What We Are Looking For

 

We are actively looking for platform companies with the attributes below.

• Sector focus: engineered industrial products, industrial services, and value-added distribution.
• Size: platforms with enterprise values of $20 million to $150 million, and add-ons of any size.
• Target attributes: growing, fragmented markets; critical components and services; complex customer relationships; margins that reflect value-add.
• Strategies: buy and build, revitalize growth, and operational improvement.

Please reach out to our business development leader, Rob Hogan, with any investment opportunities you believe fit with our strategy and approach. You can also read more on our investment criteria page.

 

About Shorehill Capital LLC

Shorehill Capital LLC is a Chicago-based private equity firm with a passion for creating superior companies. Shorehill is focused on making control equity investments in North American engineered industrial products, industrial services, and value-added distribution companies with enterprise values ranging from $20 million to $150 million, and add-ons of any size. Shorehill seeks opportunities with differentiated business models where its experience, network and investment management approach can have a significant impact on the performance of the business. For more than 30 years Shorehill’s partners have worked with middle market business leaders to accelerate growth and improve operational performance through structured investment management plans.

¹ Shorehill was recognized by Inc. Media as a founder-friendly investor over multiple years. As part of the qualification process, Inc. Media contacted past and present founders from Shorehill’s investment portfolio to ask them about their experience partnering with Shorehill. Shorehill was one of multiple firms to receive this recognition. This rating may not be representative of any investor’s experience and is not indicative of any future performance. In 2024, Shorehill paid Inc. Media $1,990 for its application and $3,245 to use Inc’s Founder Friendly logo. Since investment advisers pay Inc. Media to apply for the recognition and to use the logo each year, Inc. Media has an incentive to offer recognition to investment advisers, creating a material conflict of interest. Inc. Media is not an investor in any Shorehill funds.