Hillman Acquires Koch Industries, Enters Rope and Chain Product Category

CINCINNATI, Jan. 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hillman Solutions Corp. (Nasdaq: HLMN) (the “Company” or “Hillman”), a leading provider of hardware products and merchandising solutions, today announced that it has acquired Koch Industries, Inc. (“Koch”), a premier provider and merchandiser of rope and twine, chain and wire rope, and related hardware products. This acquisition marks the entrance into rope and chain, a new product category for Hillman.

With rope and chain products added to its newly expanded product portfolio, Hillman can seamlessly bring these products to existing customers while realizing shipping, sourcing, and service efficiencies along the way. Having recently entered the adjacent category of rope and chain accessories, the addition of rope and chain will further embed Hillman with its blue-chip customers.

“This bolt-on, attractive acquisition allows us to leverage our moat in order to capitalize on growth opportunities in this new product category,” commented Doug Cahill, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Hillman. “Koch has healthy, long-term relationships with its top-ten customers, having done business with them for an average of over 20 years. We look to continue to take care of our customers with our 1,100-member field sales and service team, our direct-to-store shipping approach, and our portfolio of owned-brands that set us apart from the competition. We are proud to welcome the Koch Industries team to the Hillman family.”

Randy Koch, co-owner and co-CEO of Koch, commented: “For 45 years, we have built Koch Industries with the goal of delivering quality products with the highest level of service for our customers. Transitioning our business to Hillman was an obvious choice, considering their strong competitive moat and track record of growth and service.”

Dave Koch, Koch’s other co-owner and co-CEO added, “We believe this is an outstanding fit for our employees, as well as our customers, and are confident that Hillman will continue to serve both exceptionally well.”

Koch’s 2,300 SKUs are in the complex, high-touch, rope and chain and associated hardware category which is a perfect addition to Hillman’s existing 112,000 SKU-portfolio. Koch’s customers include local and national retailers in the traditional hardware and farm and fleet channels based in the United States, and during its fiscal year ended May 31, 2023, Koch’s revenue totaled approximately $45 million. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.