Endless has successfully exited its investment in bespoke automation business Sewtec Automation to USA-headquartered Automated Industrial Robotics Inc (AIR).
Endless supported the management buy out of Sewtec in 2017, taking it out of founder ownership with Mark Cook joining the business as Managing Director at the time of the acquisition.
To support and enable growth, the business then relocated its entire operations in 2020 to a state-of-the-art 75,000 square-foot design and manufacturing facility in Wakefield and more recently opened a satellite office in Taunton.
Sewtec today has a team of over 170 employees, more than double the number at the time of the Endless acquisition, and now serves a range of brands across various sectors, including pharmaceutical, medical devices, food and beverage, personal care, pet care and e-commerce.
Endless investment partner, Andy Ross said: “It has been a real privilege working closely with Mark and the entire team at Sewtec over the last few years.
“We knew it was a special business from the start and our role was to provide guidance and support to the management team to help them take their unique capabilities to new customers and markets. The site move was a big positive step forward to allow the team to grow the business responsibly and sustainably.
“At Endless, we are only ever a temporary custodian of our businesses and whilst we are sad to see them go…we look forward to seeing what the Sewtec team can achieve as an integral part of the AIR portfolio in the future.”
Sewtec now joins Totally Automated Systems (TA Systems) and Modular Automation as a foundational asset of the AIR portfolio. With the acquisition of Sewtec, AIR now has over 400 employees and an automation hub footprint of approximately 275,000 square feet across the United States, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
As part of the transaction, Mark Cook, now Co-Managing Director of Sewtec, was also appointed as Chief Operating Officer of AIR. He added: “This transaction represents an exciting new chapter in Sewtec’s long history. I believe AIR is the right partner for Sewtec as we look to grow our business with existing and new customers.
“We look forward to leveraging the skills and know-how across AIR to further our ability to invent innovative solutions that help our customers solve complex operational challenges.”
The investment in Sewtec was managed by Andy Ross and Stefan Nowakowski from Endless. Endless was advised on the sale by Tim Day, Josh Harvey and the team at Rothschilds (corporate finance) and Mae Salem and her team at Squires (legal).
Due diligence support was provided by Chris Stott and Chulanga Jayawardana and their team at KPMG (financial) and Tom Klouda and his team at EY (tax).
