About The Company
Tidewater Equipment Company is a premier distributor of logging equipment, parts and service to the timber harvesting segment of the forestry industry. The Company operates ten sales and service and three parts branch locations throughout the southeastern United States. Products include log skidders, chippers, feller-bunchers, debarkers, delimbers and log loaders.
Case Study
In 2004, Linx partnered with Gil Morgan and Ken Trowbridge in a recapitalization transaction designed to a) provide partial liquidity;b) expand the Company’s geographic footprint and parts/services business; and c) professionalize the organization. In the first years of ownership, with the help of Linx and outside advisors, management was able to improve the financial reporting systems and processes, institute inventory parts management and expand the footprint into the Alabama region through an acquisition of two locations. (Alabama is one of the most heavily forested states in the U.S.) During the Linx ownership, however, the business did endure the worst housing and pulp and paper recession of its history. In this time period, management and Linx continued to make improvements to better the business, including a planned succession with Jamie Young becoming President of the Company, aligning incentive plans to motivate sales personnel, restructuring inventory to increase turns and lowering holding costs. When the Company emerged from the recession, it had a strengthened organization and had taken share from its competition.
In 2013, Tidewater was sold to another private equity firm. In looking back at the changes over the Linx hold period, the Company grew its higher margin business by over 180%, significantly reduced its inventory aging, expanded into new geographies and opened parts locations in its territories, implemented a succession plan, and had aligned interests throughout the Company to continue to grow a strong organization.