Representative Investments

Crimson's investments in companies such as Tyden Group, Gordon, Omni Industries and Waffer represent examples of the type of companies that Crimson invests in and how the firm serves as a strategic partner to management.

In Tyden Group, Crimson invested in the leading U.S. security equipment manufacturer providing direct part marking equipment and cargo security seals. The company is headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI with production operations in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. With Crimson’s assistance, Tyden is also greenfielding a wholly-owned sourcing, assembly and sales operation in China to better serve its global customer base (Caterpillar, Ford, Honda, Johnson and Johnson, etc.) most of whom are significantly expanding their operations in China.

In Gordon, Crimson invested in the leading provider of sheet metal replacement auto parts (doors, hoods, bumpers, etc.) to the U.S. aftermarket. Gordon has strong competitive barriers in the form of the industry’s largest mold-library, extensive mold making expertise and the largest number of CAPA certified replacement parts. The company is in the process of establishing an additional manufacturing facility in China to further expand its capacity and lower its global cost structure. With Crimson’s assistance, Gordon is also deepening its relationships with the leading global automotive OEMs.

In Omni, Crimson backed a strong management team with a strategy to transform a plastic injection molding company with expertise in mold fabrication and the latest molding processes (e.g. gas-assisted injection molding and automated work-cell molding) into a full-service contract manufacturing service provider. The company leveraged its plastic injection molding expertise to work collaboratively with customers at the design stage of the product cycle, enabling them to build strong relationships that ultimately translated into rapidly growing contract manufacturing revenues. The company established production operations in Singapore and secured blue-chip clients such as Dell, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola. Omni was subsequently acquired by Celestica (NASDAQ: CLS) for approximately $1 billion.

In Waffer, Crimson invested in a company producing magnesium alloy components used in notebook and cell phone casings and in automobile components. The management team licensed process technology from Dow Chemical and transitioned an existing plastic injection molding business into one of the leading magnesium alloy component manufacturers. The Company uses a process technology called thixomolding that generates significantly higher yield rates than the more traditional die casting approach and has established a high quality, cost effective production facility in China. Waffer’s customers include Dell, BMW, Daimler Chrysler, Carl Ziess and Microsoft. The company has rapidly grown both revenues and earnings and completed an Initial Public Offering.