WALKER — Nationwide pallet management company Kamps Inc. is expanding its footprint, announcing that it has closed on its fourth strategic acquisition of the year by purchasing a pallet solutions provider in Iowa.
Headquartered in Walker and backed by Los Angeles, Calif.-based private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co., Kamps announced that it purchased Le Mars, Iowa-based Tritz Pallet Inc., which operates through seven locations throughout the Great Plains region.
Tritz was founded in 1987 by Hank Tritz and provides pallet recycling and custom pallet manufacturing in addition to full pallet management services. The company employs 250 people, all of whom are expected to retain their jobs. Tritz operates facilities located in Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Hank and his team have built a great company by providing fantastic service, quality products and developing total pallet management solutions to their customers,” Kamps president Mitchell Kamps said in the company’s formal announcement about the deal.
“Their continued focus on operational excellence, harvesting the urban forest and developing and promoting career advancement opportunities to the team has aligned our companies well,” Kamps said. “We are excited to have Hank continue leading the team with an ever-bright future of growth and continued excellence in the Great Plains.”
After the acquisition, Kamps now includes 40 asset-based locations and employs 2,500 people.
In June, Kamps purchased Ohio packaging solutions provider Buckeye Diamond Logistics Inc., part of a flurry of M&A activity this year. Kamps has made seven strategic acquisitions since selling its majority stake to Freeman Spogli at the beginning of 2020.
