Yale Cordage Announces New Investment Partner
[July 31, 2020] Yale Cordage, a longstanding leader for synthetic rope and cable solutions, has been acquired and recapitalized by River Associates Investments LP, alongside Yale management. Tom Yale, Chief Executive Officer and second-generation owner, will be continuing on as a board member and shareholder while he transitions out of his role as CEO of Yale Cordage. Bill Putnam will continue as President with Drummond Boord as Vice President of Operations and Sam Cooper as Vice President of Sales.
“It was important to me to find a partner who appreciates the product creativity and applications innovation that lies behind the strong reputation we maintain with our customers and in the markets we serve.River Associates impressed us with their transparency, their unwavering intent to partner with the management team, and their decades of experience investing in owner-led businesses.This gave us confidence that they would respect and preserve the Yale legacy and add great value through our partnership” said Tom Yale, CEO of Yale Cordage.
“Tom, Bill, and the rest of the Yale team immediately struck us as smart, ethical and hard working. We’ve found these character traits in the managers of all our best performing investments over the past 30+ years. Yale not only has an impressive history and respected name in the industry, but also tremendous potential for growth. We know that our partnership will be collaborative and steady in preserving the Yale legacy and respecting the team while also exploring a number of exciting growth avenues.” said Mike Brookshire, Managing Partner of River Associates.
River Associates was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Chattanooga Tennessee.It is a private investment firm focused exclusively on investing in superior performing, niche product manufacturing, founder-owned companies and has 30 years of experience in closely partnering with management teams. The partners and professionals at River Associates have diverse backgrounds including operations, finance, accounting, commercial banking and investment banking.
Bill Putnam, President of Yale added, “I look forward to a strong, growth-oriented relationship with River for years to come.We believe their broad experience will help us take Yale to the next level for the benefit of our employees, customers, and supplier partners.”
