January 15, 2014, Chicago, IL – Safety Products Group, a platform company of Akoya Capital Partners and its investment partners Gemini Investors and TMW Enterprises, has acquired BlueWater Manufacturing.  The acquisition complements and expands Safety Products Group’s strategy in the fast-growing workplace safety space.  The addition of BlueWater brings critical mass and expands the company’s customer base and product line to better serve the growing demands for collective fall protection products.

Located in Chaska, Minnesota, BlueWater Manufacturing is a leading manufacturer of pre-engineered, modular guardrail systems. Since 2001, BlueWater has been manufacturing the easy-to-install SafetyRail 2000 guardrail which has become the leading product for non-penetrating fall protection systems for roof edge safety applications.

Greg Kenton, Founder and President of BlueWater, will serve as President of Safety Products Group and will also serve on the Board of Directors. Philippe Suhas, Akoya Operating Partner and CEO of Safety Products Group noted: “We are thrilled to add BlueWater’s capabilities to the company. We are creating a leader in collective safety products by combining two of the most well known and highly regarded brands in the safety sector, along with complementary teams and capabilities.”

Safety Products Group is one of nine platform companies in Akoya’s current portfolio and BlueWater is Akoya’s eighth acquisition within the last two years. “The BlueWater acquisition is consistent with our investment strategy of combining world-class executives, well-positioned companies and fully developed value creation strategies to create significant value for management and investors”, said Max DeZara, Managing Partner of Akoya.

About Akoya

Akoya Capital Partners, LLC is a highly skilled private investment firm that sponsors transactions in lower and middle market businesses with attractive growth prospects. We bring together industry leaders, investment worthy executives, and private sources of capital to execute acquisition-based strategies to create significant value for sellers, management, and investors. We are a highly experienced team with a track record of success in executing transactions and accelerating value creation.

We focus on selected industry sectors where we have deep domain and operating expertise. Each of our sectors is led by an accomplished industry executive with a history of building businesses and creating value within their industry. We currently focus on investments in the following sectors; Consumer Foods, Specialty Chemicals, Environmental and Energy Services, Workplace Safety and Productivity, and Professional Information Services.