ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI – March 2, 2023. Frontenac-backed EFC International announced March 2 that it has acquired St. Louis-based Inventory Sales Company (ISC), a distributor of fastener products, components, and struts/accessories to diversified industrial and infrastructure markets. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
EFC, based in St. Louis, MO, operates globally and provides solutions such as engineering support, sales and marketing, distribution, and high-touch service to customers in the automotive, industrial, and other technical end markets. The Company has served as a critical link between suppliers and customers for over 35 years. EFC has a history of growth driven by longstanding supplier relationships and a tenured customer base.
ISC, founded in 1972 by Jim Friedmann and headquartered in St. Louis, MO, is a distributor of Class-C parts with a primary focus on fasteners and strut accessories. The company has a highly reputable and well-established brand and is known for outstanding levels of service through its broad capabilities including vendor managed inventory programs, in-house fabrication, kitting, and a strong sales force. ISC also has operations and a warehouse in Kansas City, KS and St. Elizabeth, MO.
Matt Dudenhoeffer, EFC CEO, who will lead the combined company, stated “The ISC acquisition provides us with tremendously increased scale and diversification while further expanding and strengthening the product and service offerings of both companies. The acquisition is very strategic, and what is also impressive is the alignment of company cultures and similar histories. We believe the sky is the limit for what we can accomplish together through the strong collaboration of these great teams.”
ISC President, Cathy Friedmann, who will continue to lead ISC, added that “This combination of our two companies is such a great fit; it gives us the platform to grow beyond what we ever previously imagined. EFC dramatically enhances our technical capabilities and our product and service offerings as well as geographic footprint. The customer has always been king at ISC, and now we can serve them even better than before. This acquisition creates additional opportunities for our customers, suppliers, and employees alike.”
About EFC
EFC International, headquartered in St. Louis, is a global provider of engineered fasteners and specialized component solutions serving the automotive, electrified vehicle, industrial and distribution marketplaces. Providing a high level of engineering support to customers and protecting supply chains is a cornerstone of EFC’s model. Close supplier partnerships with market leaders and innovators enables EFC to meet the unique and evolving needs of each customer. EFC’s engineered products include plastic injection molded components, spring steel stampings, cold-formed fasteners, clamp products, motion control and routing components, electrical/electronic connectors, and light assemblies among numerous other products. EFC has locations in North America, Europe, and Asia. To learn more about EFC and to explore their online engineering guides, please visit www.efc-intl.com.
About ISC
St. Louis-based Inventory Sales Company is a distributor of fasteners, specialty components, struts, and strut accessories to a diversified group of customers and industrial end markets. ISC creates value through stocking a large breadth of product and acting as an outsourced, scaled purchasing team for its customers. Service capabilities include VMI programs, customized kitting/packaging/labeling, in-house fabrication, stud welding, technical product assistance and global sourcing. The company provides valued customer service by having short lead times, a wide selection of products, customized inventory programs, and by following a simple mantra – “The Customer is King.” To learn more, please explore www.inventorysales.com.
About Frontenac
Frontenac is a Chicago-based private equity firm. The firm focuses on investing in lower middle market buyout transactions in the consumer, industrial, and services industries. Frontenac works in partnership with established operating leaders, through an executive-centric approach called CEO1ST, which seeks to identify, acquire, and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and operational excellence. Over the last 50+ years, Frontenac has built a leading franchise working with over 300 owners of mid-sized businesses as they address complex transition issues of liquidity, management enhancement, and growth planning. For more information, please visit frontenac.com
Author: EFC International
