FOSTER CITY CA, November 2, 2021: Safety Products Holdings (“SPH” or the “Company”), a portfolio company of Bertram Capital (“Bertram”), and industry pioneer in commercial safety cutting tools and accessories announced today the acquisition of Slice, Inc (“Slice”). Driven by a proprietary manufacturing process, award-winning design, and unmatched safety performance, founder TJ Scimone has modernized the category and positioned Slice as a globally recognized brand, offering a new breed of ceramic blade safety cutting tools. Slice is a natural complement to SPH’s rapidly growing brand portfolio which includes industry icons Pacific Handy Cutter and Klever Innovations. The Slice acquisition brings increased design engineering capabilities and patented technologies, creating a strengthened foundation for new products and market expansion. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
"The entire SPH team is ecstatic for our partnership with TJ and the Slice team," says Mark Marinovich, CEO of SPH. “The extension into ceramic blade safety cutters elevates our product offering, providing the opportunity to meet the growing market demand for a wider range of safety cutting tools in both the commercial and consumer markets.”
The transaction showcases SPH and Bertram's buy-and-build strategy. SPH and Bertram will continue to actively target add-on acquisitions of safety cutter and safety equipment providers.
“Slice is a design-centric brand that we believe is well positioned to continue capitalizing on the increasing importance of safety cutting tools in both the workplace and at home," states Kevin Yamashita, Partner at Bertram Capital. TJ Scimone adds "We’re thrilled to be working with Bertram Labs to introduce our unique tools to the consumer market”.
Bertram would like to recognize Bruce Pompan and the investment banking team at American Discovery Advisors for their efforts in closing this transaction and making this partnership possible. Additionally, Bertram would like to thank Ben Farris, Managing Director at Lincoln International, for his involvement in the successful transaction.
About Safety Products Holdings
For over 70 years, SPH has been the leading U.S manufacturer of safety cutting solutions, providing commercial industries with best-in-class products that increase workplace safety, prevent costly injuries, and reduce damaged merchandise. The company has a proven track record of introducing innovative safety cutting solutions to their customers, fueled by their expertise in engineering and manufacturing. With significant market penetration, SPH continues to grow their global market customer bases within industrial manufacturing, distribution, warehousing, retail, grocery, and consumer markets. Visit www.safetyproductsholdings.comfor more information.
About Slice
Slice continues to revolutionize the safety cutter market with a new breed of ceramic safety blades. Its vast product line leverages a proprietary manufacturing process that creates a first-of-its-kind, high performing, and finger-friendly® blade edge that serves as a compelling safety solution to users. Slice has quickly gained brand recognition in commercial and consumer markets both in the U.S and internationally. Visit www.sliceproducts.com for more information. [BR1]
About Bertram Capital
Bertram Capital is a private equity firm targeting investments in lower middle market companies. Since its inception in 2006, the firm has raised over $2.2B of capital commitments. In addition to supplying strategic growth capital, Bertram Capital leverages proprietary processes and services, Bertram High-5sm and Bertram Labs seeks to empower its portfolio companies to unlock their full business potential. The Bertram High-5sm is an operationally-focused value creation strategy, which includes management augmentation, operational initiative implementation, complementary business acquisition, sales and marketing improvements, and leverages technology and IP[BR2]. The cornerstone of this strategy is Bertram Labs, its in-house technology team, which seeks to drive growth and value through digital marketing, e-commerce, big data and analytics, application development, and internal and external platform optimization. Visit www.bcap.com for more information.