Prototek gets serious about AM with Midwest Prototyping acquisition
Combined company to provide full suite of manufacturing services with fleet of over 140 machines
Prototek Holdings LLC—not to be confused with Italy-based Prototek (now owned by Dedem Group), also a leading provider of AM services—completed the acquisition of Midwest Prototyping LLC, one of the US’ largest independent additive manufacturing services businesses and a leader in digital manufacturing. The transaction closed on July 15, 2021.
As a leading national provider of rapid prototyping and low volume production services for precision machined and sheet metal fabricated parts, Prototek Holdings conducted the transaction to join forces with Midwest Prototyping at an exciting point in the growth of both firms, allowing them to provide a single destination for increasingly complex prototyping and low-volume manufacturing needs of customers.
“The Midwest Prototyping team will be a terrific complement to our core capabilities and will support our continued growth,” said William Gress, CEO of Prototek. “We can now meet all of the prototyping and low volume production needs for our customers through a broad range of cutting-edge manufacturing capabilities and increased size, scale and efficiency, with the same high quality they’ve come to expect. Steve and his team are a great fit for us, and we look forward to working together to provide end-to-end digital manufacturing solutions to our customers around the country.”
The combined company will be able to provide a full suite of sheet metal, CNC, and additive manufacturing capabilities with a fleet of more than 140 machines. In addition, it will allow both firms to serve a more geographically diverse customer base with locations near technology hubs in the Northeast, Silicon Valley and the Midwest. The company will continue to operate in all current Prototek and Midwest Prototyping locations, with a total of 237 employees.
William Gress will continue in his role as CEO of Prototek. Steve Grundahl, President and Founder of Midwest Prototyping, will serve as Vice President of Additive Manufacturing. Grundahl will be responsible for leading the company’s digital manufacturing growth strategy with Midwest Prototyping as the foundation of an aggressive growth plan.
“Bill and the team at Prototek are the right partners for us at this pivotal time in our development,” said Grundahl. “Digital and on-demand manufacturing are experiencing significant tailwinds. Joining Prototek gives our employees greater opportunities for growth, and we’re thrilled to bring even more resources and flexibility to our customers.”
“We recently acquired Prototek to support its growth prospects and expansion into digital and on-demand manufacturing. Merging the Midwest Prototyping team and additive manufacturing capabilities with Prototek’s already robust offerings is a great first step to advance this strategy,” added John Pless, Partner, TruArc Partners. “We expect this to be the beginning of significant additional investments in organic and inorganic initiatives that will position the company to capitalize on a dynamic industrial manufacturing market.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP served as legal counsel to TruArc Partners and Prototek. Stifel Global Technology Group acted as exclusive financial advisor to Midwest Prototyping in connection with the transaction. Murphy Desmond S.C. served as legal counsel to Midwest Prototyping.
