Gryphon Investors has already added a second company to its new distribution platform for thermal auxiliary equipment, acquiring Proheat Inc. of La Grange, Ky.
Proheat is the latest purchase by Thermal Technology Distribution Solutions (TTDS), the platform Gryphon just created in September to buy Big Chief Inc.
Cincinnati-based Big Chief fabricates and distributes industrial thermal equipment for plastics processors, including hot-runners, barrels, screws and pressure transducers.
Similarly, Proheat distributes hot-runners, heaters, sensors and controls. The company has been operating since 1970.
Gryphon and TTDS said in a Jan. 23 news release that Proheat President and CEO Steven Button will remain with the company and retain a significant equity stake.
Other terms of the deal were not disclosed. Gryphon, a middle-market private equity firm in San Francisco, operates TTDS through its small-cap Heritage Fund.
Jeff Pembroke, Heritage Fund operating partner, said TTDS will continue to grow.
"In this highly fragmented market, we are actively pursuing multiple organic and acquisition opportunities," he said.
Gryphon's other plastics-related investments include compounder Techmer PM, sheet extruder Pacur and additives supplier Vivify Specialty Ingredients. Gryphon manages assets worth more than $8.9 billion, targeting investments of $50 million to $300 million.