High-speed, rotating equipment specialist Fox Innovation & Technologies reported Aug. 5 that it’s acquiring rotating machinery services provider Cotter Holdings Group to enhance its U.S. field operating capabilities and footprint.
Fox will leverage Cotter’s experience executing field-service projects to expand Fox’s ability to provide full-service solutions. Notably, this acquisition encompasses Cotter’s portfolio, including S.T. Cotter Turbine Services, Axis Mechanical Group and Axis Industrial Repair services, which collectively employ up to 500 individuals at peak capacity, and will push Fox’s revenue to more than $100 million in last 12 months (LTM) on a proforma basis.
“This acquisition completes the first major phase of our business plan to provide technology equal to or better than any of the OEMs, with the agility and responsiveness normally associated with first-tier providers of traditional aftermarket services. Our technological capabilities have now been verified by testing,” says Vincent Volpe, CEO at Fox, and former CEO at Dresser-Rand. “The acquisition last July of Revak Keene Turbomachinery brought us the manufacturing footprint to produce revamp hardware, along with the core capability to perform multiple product line repairs. The Cotter acquisition adds the field service capabilities to complete our core business approach. The platform for carbon-footprint reduction, energy security for our clients, and a long-term profitable growth trajectory for Fox is now in place. Going forward, we’ll continue to enhance this core with engineered solutions and the geographic footprint required to make us the customers’ first choice in our served markets.”
When Fox was seeking funding for its effort three years ago, Volpe reports he contacted Tom Sikorski, a founding partner at Blue Water, a private equity firm that focuses on energy transitions. “The plan we agreed on required that we develop technology around compressor flow path efficiency, which is now in place. The second and third legs of the strategic stool required manufacturing and repair capability, and a field services organization capable of effectively connecting our solutions directly to end users. The Revak acquisition gave us the second leg, and over the last 12 months, we made good progress in integrating and reconfiguring the facility and key processes to meet our future needs.
“In looking for a field operations solution, we found the operating margins and working capital management at Cotter Group set it apart from its competitors. It’s well run, and while there will be areas where shared services combinations will bring us stronger global singular processes, we’re already working on sales and marketing synergies that should increase value for our clients, and let us grow profitably over the long term.”
