Business
Time Manufacturing is a leading global manufacturer and distributor of vehicle-mounted aerial lifts, primarily for the telecom and electric utility end markets.
Situation overview
Time had been owned by an Irish family for over 30 years. Sterling helped recruit a highly capable management team with deep experience in lean manufacturing and invested heavily in commercial initiatives as well as inorganic expansion, enabling growth in both new end markets and new geographies.
Time is a global designer, manufacturer, and distributor of vehicle-mounted aerial lifts, fiberglass truck bodies and under bridge inspection units, serving the electric utility, telecom, infrastructure, and forestry end-markets. Time’s primary manufacturing operations are based at its headquarters in Waco, Texas, and are supported by 8 additional manufacturing sites and 29 owned distribution and service locations across the globe.
In Time, Sterling saw a good business with consistent demand driven largely by repair and replacement applications for the company’s products. Sterling identified an opportunity to transition a family-owned business, supplement the management team, transform the company’s customer value proposition, improve efficiency of manufacturing operations, and scale the business into a vertically-integrated global leader.
In partnership with highly experienced and growth-focused additions to management, Sterling deployed a multi-faceted M&A strategy, successfully completing nine acquisitions in four years, which helped to expand Time’s product offering and presence in attractive new geographies and end-markets. Sterling helped Time revamp its sales focus and go-to-market strategy, increasing company-owned distribution and enhancing both customer experience and margins. Additionally, Sterling and management worked together to implement lean manufacturing and overhaul operational and financial reporting processes to increase capacity and performance.
*The experience cited here is not necessarily reflective of all who have partnered with Sterling. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Further, this individual is not an investor in any of Sterling’s affiliated investment funds, but was previously employed by a portfolio company of Sterling’s and it is possible such individual may wish to be employed by a Sterling portfolio company in the future. While this individual was not compensated for this endorsement, this individual was compensated as an employee of the portfolio company during its partnership with Sterling, and it is possible that this individual may have received or in the future receive other tangible benefits from Sterling.
