Saw Mill Capital bought Henderson, N.C.-based Versatrim LLC, one of the largest trim and molding manufacturers in the flooring industry, from Heritage Capital Group.
Founded in 1998, Versatrim started out making moldings for furniture, windows and flooring before focusing on only flooring for the residential remodeling market as its main business.
Versatrim produces 94-inch-long moldings in 12 profiles to match the thickness of a wide range of flooring, including vinyl, luxury vinyl tile, "wood plastic vinyl," laminate and rigid core flooring.
The company's online catalog shows a variety of PVC and composite wood floor moldings with a high-wear resistant aluminum oxide laminate. The moldings are used in doorways to join two laminate floors or transition from laminate floors to carpet, masonry, sliding doors and other exterior door jambs.
In 2019, Versatrim experienced significant growth and added a new print line for high-resolution digital print technology to keep up with industry demands and evolving visuals. The company also added 184,000 square feet of warehouse, of which 80,000 square feet was to be used and the rest left for future projects.
Molding demand remained strong in 2020 when the pandemic spurred remodeling for working and learning from home. At the same time, competing products from China were taking longer to ship.
Versatrim founder and President Thilo Hessler said at the time that short lead times have always benefited the company, which is important because although moldings are a small part of the job, they are key to getting it done and for the installer and floor covering store to get paid.
"We built the company on a foundation of high-quality manufacturing and excellent customer service. It was important for me to find a buyer that shared these core principles and had a desire to take Versatrim to the next level," Hessler said in a news release about the sale.
Terms of the deal between Heritage Capital, an investment banking firm, and Saw Mill, which invests in business services, specialty distribution and manufactured products, were not disclosed.
Hessler credited the Heritage team, which was led by Bill Sorenson, for working hard to find the right buyer in Saw Mill Capital.
"Thilo and his team built a great company by filling a need in the marketplace for flooring solutions,” Sorenson said in the release. “Entrepreneurs, like Thilo, drive our economy, and the story of Versatrim is an American success story."