Prospect Partners, a private equity firm investing in smaller lower-middle-market companies, and Schilling Ventures LLC, an operations-focused investment firm, announced January 8 that they have recapitalized Cyclonaire Corporation. Cyclonaire is the seventh platform company in Prospect Partners’ $200 million third fund and the third investment for Schilling Ventures.
Cyclonaire manufactures custom-engineered and manufactured pneumatic conveying systems for the transfer of dry bulk materials. The company’s experience spans railcar transloading, locomotive track sanding, dust collection, automation, batching and blending, and aeration systems. Founded in 1973, Cyclonaire is a leader in material handling, specializing in pneumatic conveying technology.
The company provides proprietary, efficient, and environmentally-friendly systems as well as a full line of pneumatic conveyer components and parts. Cyclonaire serves customers in wide-ranging industries from building materials to chemical, energy, environmental, foundries, mining, rail, and rubber. Cyclonaire equipment moves hundreds of different kinds of powdered and granular materials, including cement, chemicals, food, minerals, petrochemicals, proppants, and sand.
“With a stellar reputation, a superb management team, specialized technology, and significant continued growth potential, Cyclonaire stands out as a market leader in the fragmented pneumatic conveying industry,” said Maneesh Chawla, a principal at Prospect Partners. “We look forward to supporting management in building a larger company in the broader material handling space and to partnering with Schilling Ventures, a skilled operator with a focus on lean manufacturing initiatives.”
Cyclonaire will continue to be led by Jerry Elfring, who has been with the company almost since its inception, and his veteran management team.
