Blackford Capital Acquires Michigan’s Grand Equipment
Blackford Capital, a national private equity firm headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., has acquired Hudsonville, Mich.-based Grand Equipment, a family-owned and operated distributor and equipment rental company. The transaction is the sixth by Blackford’s Michigan Prosperity Fund, which invests exclusively in Michigan companies to support the state’s economy.
Grand Equipment was founded in 2000 by brother Jeff and Matt Grasman and has grown to be one of the state’s largest multi-line equipment, parts, service and rental dealers in Michigan. Grand Equipment operates out of a 30,000-square-foot facility on 8.5 acres and employs 37 people. All sales, rental, parts and service operations are centralized in this location. Grand Equipment’s management team will remain in place with Jeff Grasman continuing as CEO.
“With construction nearing a record-breaking pace, demand for reliable and cost-efficient equipment is greater than ever, particularly within Michigan,” said Martin Stein, founder and managing director of Blackford Capital. “Grand Equipment operates in a competitive market with a few large, global retail and rental distributors, but manages to diversify and grow its business through customer service, a quality product offering, and an understanding of the regional construction industry environment. We see immense potential in the quality of the products and services that Grand provides, and will look to capitalize on readily available opportunities in order to grow the company into a leading construction equipment provider. We are extremely impressed with Jeff and Matt’s leadership, and we are excited to support the Grand Equipment team as they grow the company to the next level.”
“We have enjoyed a loyal and growing customer base from dozens of various industries and have served more than 2,500 customers over the last five years,” said Jeff Grasman. “We are excited to partner with Blackford for continued success as they provide our team with the right resources and talent to bring our business to the next level of performance and growth.”
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.