L.B. White Company, LLC Announces the Acquisition of Reeves Supply, Inc.
Press Release
Milwaukee WI, December 19 2017
For more information, contact: Jay Radtke, Senior Managing Director 414-727-6405 or Mike Wirth, Director 414-727-6413
Mason Wells is pleased to announce that L.B. White Company, LLC (“L.B. White”), a Mason Wells Buyout Fund IV portfolio company has acquired Reeves Supply, Inc. (“Reeves”). The business will be owned by L.B. White and operate under the name Reeves Supply.
Reeves is a leading manufacturer of evaporative cooling systems and parts for the poultry industry. Over the Company’s 20-year history, it has become a leader in the poultry cooling market. Reeves is at the forefront of confinement cooling design and innovation and sets the industry standards for quality, reliability, and service. Poultry growers depend on Reeves cooling solutions to maintain the required temperature and ventilation rates to support animal health at various ages, weights, and densities. Reeves’ headquarters and manufacturing facility will continue to be located in Franklin, Georgia.
Reeves Supply was previously owned by Hazel and Harold “Skip” Reeves. Hazel will retire as part of the ownership transition, while Skip will maintain his role as National Sales Manager for Reeves and participate in the ownership of the combined business. The employees and suppliers of Reeves have played an integral role in the company’s growth and success and will continue to do so in the future.
“L.B. White has greatly respected and admired Reeves for a number of years. Wayne and Hazel Reeves, the founders of Reeves Supply, and Skip Reeves spent over 20 years building a great company with outstanding people and tremendous capabilities, and we proudly welcome the Reeves Supply team to L.B. White. Bringing together the two leaders of heating and cooling solutions for the livestock confinement industry will provide a number of benefits to L.B. White’s and Reeves’ customers. The combined resources of the two companies provide our customers with enhanced value through expanded product development, geographic, and market expansion capabilities,” said Kevin Gagermeier, President, and CEO of L.B. White
Based in Onalaska, Wisconsin, L.B. White is a manufacturer of branded forced-air, radiant and variable rate heating and cooling equipment and parts for the global swine, poultry, and construction markets. Over L.B. White’s 65-year history, the Company has become a leader in the heating and cooling markets they sell into. For more information, please visit the L.B. White website at www.lbwhite.com.
Mason Wells is a leading Midwest-based private equity firm with approximately $1.0 billion in assets under management across its current private equity funds. Mason Wells is currently investing out of Mason Wells Buyout Fund IV, a $615 million fund. Since Mason Wells was formed in 1998, its buyout funds have invested in four specific industry sectors: Consumer Packaged Goods, Outsourced Business Services, Engineered Products & Services, and Packaging Materials & Converting. For more information related to Mason Wells, please visit the firm’s website at www.masonwells.com.