XPV Water Partners Acquires Atlas/SSI

Atlas Manufacturing and Screening Systems International (SSI) were the leading companies in the production and service of traveling water screens, a very large, heavily engineered equipment essential to power plants and industries using/circulating very high volumes of water. Located within one hundred miles of each other in Mississippi/Louisiana, the two companies had been competing head-to-head for over twenty years. Both companies faced ownership and management transitions challenges as key leaders were set to retire and a paradigm shift was necessary to improve systems and take advantage of opportunities beyond their natural home markets.

 Pritchard Griffin maintained a relationship with both companies and was successful in “pre-merging” Atlas and SSI into a single process as a means to maximize value creation for the ultimate acquirer. Through this collaboration, the companies were able to achieve revenue enhancing synergies through the cross-pollination of non-overlapping customers and services. Additionally, significant immediate cost saving synergies were created through the streamlining of combined production processes, procurement economies of scale, and adoption of “best of best” work systems.

 With operational synergies identified and prioritized, these previous competitors could benefit from an acquirer with broader outreach and more advanced management systems. Through its process to identify the best strategic acquirers, Pritchard Griffin called on its long-standing relationship with XPV Water Partners of Toronto. XPV appreciated the strategic positioning of Atlas/SSI and was motivated to expand the combined companies’ market outreach to new geographies and industrial applications via its very broad contact network.