Milton Industries Acquires Steck Manufacturing

Jul 30, 2023

Milton Industries has announced its acquisition of Steck Manufacturing Co., a developer and manufacturer of specialty tools for the automotive aftermarket. For more than 50 years, Steck, based in Dayton, Ohio, has provided specialty tools to automotive repair, body shop, heavy-duty truck, lockout and towing markets across the globe.

This is Milton's fifth vehicle aftermarket-related acquisition. Among the company's recent acquisitions are ProMAXX Tool, LTI Tools/Casey Tool (Lock Technologies), National-Spencer (Zee-line), and GHMeiser (AccuGage).

"This expands Milton's reach into Steck's automotive and truck specialty tool offerings and market space," said Greg Carlson, CEO of Milton Industries. "We will use our design, manufacturing and marketing expertise to broaden both brands’ market share. Our newly combined teams, knowledge and distribution channels will be a catalyst for continued growth."

"The folks at Milton have been great," said Chris Brill, president of Steck Manufacturing Co. "We share the same values and work ethic. We value our employees, our customers and the integrity of the product. So, I couldn't have asked for a better company to work with."

"The acquisition will expand our product line into new industries and get our tools into the hands of more customers," Brill said. "And our employees are joining a much larger company, so they get the benefits and security that come along with a company of more than 200 employees, as opposed to a company of 13 employees.

Carlson will continue as CEO of Milton Industries. Brill will continue with Steck for a 90-day transition period. Milton's core management team partnered with its financial sponsor, LLCP (Levine Leichtman Capital Partners) for the acquisition.

Milton and Steck bring substantial experience and expertise to their newly combined markets in automotive, body shop, heavy-duty trucks and commercial/governmental fleets.

Based in Chicago, Illinois, Milton Industries develops, manufactures and markets precision-engineered products. The company has expanded its market presence in the automotive and heavy-duty truck market with the acquisition of ProMAXX Tool, Zee Line, LTI Tools/Casey Tools, and GHMeiser/AccuGage. This, together with the recent launch of the Milton EV tools product line, creates a growth-centered specialty tool solutions offering for service technicians and prosumers.

Currently, Milton is focused on aggressive, organic and acquisitive growth. Milton also makes more than 1,600 pneumatic and hydraulic products and accessories including safety couplers, plugs, gauges, inflators, chucks, hose reels, blow guns, specialty hand tools & kits, filter regulator lubricators (FRLs), and signaling devices.