Affiliate of Sun Capital Partners Acquires Ames Taping Tools

Sun Capital Partners, a leading private investment firm specializing in leveraged buyouts and investments in market-leading companies, announced that an affiliate has completed the acquisition of Ames Taping Tools, a leading rental provider of automatic taping and finishing tools, supplies and training to the professional drywall finishing industry.

Michael Roth

Sept. 29, 2017

2 min read

Ames Taping Tools has about 100 locations for rental and sale of automatic taping and finishing tools.

Founded in 1939, Ames invented automatic taping and finishing tool technology and has continued to improve speed and productivity. With a network of about 100 company stores and franchise locations throughout the United States and Canada, Ames supports residential and commercial interior finishing contractors with a large tool rental operation.

“Our investment in Ames Taping Tools represents a great opportunity to grow a market-leading provider of specialized contracting equipment,” said Marc Leder, co-CEO at Sun Capital.

Based in Suwanee, Ga., Ames, previously owned by a consortium of private equity firms and banks, is the number one provider of automatic taping and finishing tools used for drywall installation in North America, renting and selling tools under the Ames and TapeTech brands. Sun Capital sees considerable potential to grow the business, and will work with management to implement the Sun Transformation System to maximize operational efficiencies and reduce procurement costs.

“Sun Capital has a great reputation for being able to jump start growth at companies like ours with a leading market position and strong product set,” said Fred Daniels, president and CEO of Ames. “Their team is a great match with ours culturally, and we’re looking forward to working with them to maximize Ames’ potential.”

Daniels told RER the entire management team at Ames is staying on and is “very optimistic” about growth prospects.

Sun Capital has experience in the manufacturing and distribution of building products and related services through current affiliated portfolio companies including Trulite Glass & Aluminum Solutions, a leading fabricator and distributor of architectural glass and aluminum; Arrow TruLine, a manufacturer and distributor of garage door hardware and fittings; Horizon Services, a residential provider of plumbing, heating and air conditioning services; and Demilac, a spray polyurethane foam insulation provider.

Ames Taping Tools is No. 85 on the RER 100.

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.