PRESS RELEASE
Rowayton, CT - April 30, 2010 - Lakewood Capital is pleased to announce that its portfolio company, Eliason Corporation, Kalamazoo, MI, one of the leading manufacturers of high-impact traffic doors in the nation, has acquired CMI Doors of Winnipeg, Manitoba. CMI specializes in high quality traffic doors sold to industrial customers in Canada and parts of the United States, and is led by industry veteran Bob Vermette.
Roger Knight, Managing Partner of Lakewood Capital and Chairman of Eliason Corporation, noted, “The opportunity to bring together two strong product lines under one roof, providing our existing customers as well as those served by Bob Vermette’s team with one of the broadest product lines in the industry, is a power combination. We are excited to support the combined management teams as they expand Eliason’s reach into new markets and channels of distribution." Eliason was acquired by Lakewood Capital and Milestone Partners in February 2008, with the support of its partners MMF Capital and MFC Capital Funding.
Jeffrey Stark, CEO of Eliason Corporation stated, “The CMI team and Eliason have been working together on smaller projects for awhile and the commitment to serving our customers needs to the fullest has been strongly held by both organizations. We are already working seamlessly through many transitional matters and the combined sales force is marketing to new and existing customers the complete and combined product lines of the two companies. We are confident that our expanded offering and broader reach will further drive the reputation of Eliason as the premier manufacturer in the industry.”
Bob Vermette, former CEO of Eliason will lead Eliason’s sales efforts into the industrial channel. Bob commented, “Eliason’s ability to custom design almost any type of traffic door is a major competitive advantage in the market, and the entire CMI team is looking forward to servicing its customers even more broadly than before."