Rotunda Capital Partners Portfolio Company Discount Ramps Acquires Heavy Duty Ramps

May 9, 2016 | By Business Wire News

WASHINGTON & CHICAGO

DiscountRamps.com, a premier online retailer of leading hauling and transportation products and a Rotunda Capital Partners portfolio company, has acquired Heavy Duty Ramps LLC, an industry-leading designer and manufacturer of aluminum ramps. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Utilizing its patented designs, Kewaskum, Wisconsin-based Heavy Duty Ramps creates and distributes ramps, loading systems and other products for use with trucks, trailers, airplanes and many other applications. Discount Ramps offers more than 11,000 products, primarily servicing the powersports, mobility, recreational, commercial, transportation, military and industrial markets.

Discount Ramps and Heavy Duty Ramps have had a longstanding strategic partnership, and the acquisition places the two companies under common ownership. Heavy Duty Ramps will operate as a standalone subsidiary of Discount Ramps. Richard Beilstein, Heavy Duty Ramps founder, will remain with the company as an executive vice president and will be actively involved in working with customers and designing ramp systems.

According to Beilstein, “Discount Ramps is the ideal partner for Heavy Duty Ramps, given our strong historical partnership and its position as a leading retailer of powersports and commercial ramps and loading systems. Combining our product design and manufacturing expertise at Heavy Duty Ramps with the marketing expertise and customer relationships of Discount Ramps will create a strategic advantage for Discount Ramps in its online marketplaces. In addition, by merging into Discount Ramps, we at Heavy Duty Ramps will have the resources available to grow our customer base and execute an aggressive expansion plan.”

Larry Marmon, CEO of Discount Ramps, commented, “Heavy Duty Ramps has been successful for many years by providing innovative products and best-in-class quality to its customers. We believe that consolidating Discount Ramps and Heavy Duty Ramps will enable accelerated new product introductions, improved customer service and seamless penetration of new markets. More importantly, we are excited about the opportunity to grow a U.S. manufacturing facility and create jobs.”

Rotunda Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in Discount Ramps in December 2013.

About Discount Ramps

Discount Ramps is an online retailer of loading, hauling and transportation products. Offering more than 11,000 products, the company primarily services the powersports, mobility, recreational, commercial, transportation, military and industrial markets. Discount Ramps offers many well-known brands including Rage Powersports, Black Widow, Big Boy, Kill Shot Silver Spring and APEX. Discount Ramps has been recognized by Internet Retailer as one of the top 500 revenue grossing sites in the U.S. for the last six years and has been recognized as one of Milwaukee’s fastest growing firms by the Milwaukee Business Journal. To learn more, visit www.discountramps.com.

About Heavy Duty Ramps

Heavy Duty Ramps has been in the ramp manufacturing business for 36 years. The company specializes in the creation and manufacturing of aluminum loading systems for numerous industries, including the military. Using lightweight aluminum and patented designs, Heavy Duty is able to satisfy its customers’ requests for application-specific ramps and other products. Heavy Duty’s customers include trailer manufacturers, transportation companies, independent truckers, many branches of the U.S. military and Discount Ramps, which distributes its products in online markets.

About Rotunda Capital

Rotunda Capital Partners is a private equity firm that invests equity capital in established and profitable lower middle market companies. As an independent deal sponsor, Rotunda Capital raises and invests the capital of its principals, institutions, family offices and high net worth individuals on a deal-by-deal basis. The firm uses a rigorous approach to identify market-leading companies with identifiable growth opportunities and capable management teams in targeted sectors, including distribution, logistics, specialty finance and business services. Rotunda Capital collaborates with industry-leading operating executives to grow each portfolio company. Since 2009, Rotunda Capital has completed nine platform investments and realized three exits. The partners of Rotunda Capital actively provide guidance and draw on deep industry and financial relationships to contribute to the successful execution of Rotunda Capital’s companies’ strategic plans.