Allenstown, New Hampshire – Industrial Device Investments LLC (IDI), a Knoxville, Tennessee investment firm focused on industrial product companies, has completed its control investment in Materials Research Furnaces, Inc. (MRF).
MRF is an internationally known authority in the manufacturing, design and repair of specialized high temperature furnaces. Peter Sanborn will remain as an MRF President and a shareholder.
Business Transition Strategies, an M&A firm with offices in Pembroke, N.H. and Andover, Mass., coordinated the transaction for the ownership of MRF. This included conducting the buyer search, coordinating diligence and assisting other professional advisors in completing the transaction. John Howe, director, and Ken Schaefer, deputy director, worked as a team on the project.
Hundreds of custom MRF extreme temperature furnaces operate globally with process temperatures ranging from 1600° – 3000°C. MRF equipment is used in research and production of ceramic and refractory metal components, crystal growth for electronics, tantalum capacitor production, and a range of other uses. MRF furnaces are used for ceramic impregnation and coating, sintering, crystal growth, pressing, testing, annealing, brazing and heat treating, and provide strength, chemical resistance, thermal resistance, longer life span, bio-compatibility, corrosion resistance and ability to meet nuclear/medical standards.
IDI Managing Director John Dalton said “Investing in the engineering process and technology of high heat temperature furnaces will provide value across multiple industries and will allow our customers to leap-frog competition. MRF is strong in ceramics and electronics component production equipment.”
Peter Sanborn, president of both the seller and new entities, said “we are excited to have IDI as a partner, both to strengthen the company financially and to collaborate operationally to bring value to customers. IDI is committed to our customers, to MRF employees and to New Hampshire.”
“We are very pleased to have helped with this transition of ownership,” commented John Howe, director of Business Transition Strategies. “The company and jobs will stay in the state, and our expectation is that the company will continue grow.”
Michael Rubinger and his team at Nelson Mullins in Atlanta provided legal counsel to Industrial Device Investments; Peter Burger and Bradford Melson of Orr & Reno provided legal counsel to Materials Research Furnaces. Ben Emmons and Dan Lawrence of Source Capital LLC provided debt financing and equity investment to support the transaction.
Materials Research Furnaces
MRF, designs, manufactures, and services industrial high-temperature, vacuum and controlled atmosphere furnaces for a wide range of applications. MRF offers vacuum furnaces, laboratory furnaces, industrial furnaces, arc melting furnaces, hot pressing furnaces and builds custom furnaces to meet specific customer requirements and processes. Over 29 years, MRF technology is used worldwide in aerospace, medical, energy, electronics, laboratories, universities and gem and crystal industries. MRF is headquartered in Allenstown, NH. https://mrf-furnaces.com
Industrial Device Investments
IDI was established in 2017 by John Dalton, a three-decade industrial product veteran. Industrial Device Investments is an investment firm which invests as control investor for small ($1-3M) companies in industrial devices, sensors, machinery and instruments (larger with partners). www.idinvest.net
Business Transition Strategies
BTS is an M&A advisory firm with offices in Pembroke, N.H. and Andover, Mass. It works with owners of private companies who want to sell or who seek growth through acquisition of other entities. It has sold manufacturing, distribution, machining and coating companies in, and has completed a variety of growth through acquisition deals in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and New York. It is a founding member of Cornerstone Alliance, an association of independent M&A firms across the country.