PORTFOLIO
OUR PORTFOLIO
Since Westward’s founding we have invested in 34 Companies, focusing on industries where we have deep experience: Manufacturing, Retail, Consumer, and Business Services.
Manufacturing
Globe Machine (“Globe” or the “Company”) is a global leader in complex factory machinery manufacturing and industrial automation. Westward acquired the Tacoma, WA-based 107-year-old business in early April 2024, with the goal of accelerating growth and better serving new and existing customers through innovation, training, and aftermarket parts & service – something it has been doing successfully for over a century.
The Westward and Globe teams plan to leverage each other’s strengths to expand Globe’s customer base by extending more deeply into new product offerings, and expanding the Company’s aftermarket parts and services offering, all while making Globe even easier to work with. Globe’s $1 billion+ installed base of machinery and multi-decade customer relationships present a solid foundation for growth in the core business, while also setting the Company up for expansion in areas like industrial automation and aftermarket parts and service. Globe also possesses strong operational and technical expertise in its tried-and-true business lines, where they are a market leader. We plan to protect and foster this foundation, while also leaning into newer business lines like industrial automation, robotics, and composites where the Company has had success more recently.
Based in Everett, WA, Cascade Coffee (“Cascade” or the “Company”) was originally part of Millstone Coffee and was spun out in 1995 when Millstone sold to Proctor and Gamble. It was operated as more or less as a nicely run, well-equipped hobby business for 25 years under the original founder until Westward acquired the Company in July 2020.
Over its 4+ year holding period Westward has worked alongside talented CEO John Gilbert and helped assemble a best-in class management team. Westward’s primary investment thesis revolved around diversifying what was at the time, a highly concentrated customer base. As of mid-2024, Cascade has brought down customer concentration from nearly 80% in 2020 to ~30% in 2024, while more than doubling sales and profitability. These large shifts in business and customer requirements necessitated significant operational changes, as well as additional capex and retooling of equipment.
As of late 2024, Cascade Coffee is now the largest pure-play contract retail coffee manufacturer in the United States. The Company is one of the industry's most deeply experienced co-mans, and possesses some of the broadest capabilities including roasting and blending across roast types, grinding, flavoring, nutraceutical inclusions, and packaging formats. The Company’s State of the art roasting facility houses advanced, modern packaging equipment and recently implemented robotic automation processes.
Comprised of Superior Concrete, National Precast, and Marks Metals, Environmental Containment Corp (“ECC” or the “Company”) is the leader in the design, construction, and maintenance of stormwater solutions for the Pacific Northwest. Originally founded in 1994 as a specialty construction company for pour-in-place stormwater retention, the Company has expanded its capabilities dramatically since Westward acquired the business in 2018.
Westward has been instrumental in executing two strategic acquisitions (National Precast and Marks Metals) and bringing on industry veteran, Ron Sparks. Under Ron’s leadership, ECC has combined and integrated the capabilities (and teams) of the three businesses, building a “one-stop source” for the design, manufacture and installation of stormwater detention systems. The vertically integrated nature of ECC creates enhanced revenue and profit generation through the ability to offer a complete Stormwater Detention Vault system, with market-leading lead times, and cost advantages servicing a larger customer base and wider geographic region.
Retail
Based in Wasilla, AK, Three Bears Alaska (“Three Bears” or the “Company”) is the retailer of choice in Alaska for all essential categories, offering local communities a product selection that is not too big, not too small, but “just right” – at prices that provide value and with great service by locals, for locals. The Company was founded in 1980 by Alaskans, for Alaskans – the store footprints, inventory, and pricing are designed to meet the region’s unique needs. Three Bears offers its customers three types of shopping experiences: signature “Mini-Warehouses” (50k+ square feet with a unique, rationalized merchandise assortment model featuring grocery, outdoor/sporting products and full-service pharmacies), Supermarkets (focus is on grocery) and Convenience Stores (offer a broader merchandise selection and better pricing than a typical C-store and serve communities where population densities do not support a full mini-warehouse).
Westward has worked extensively with the Three Bears management team on obtaining and optimizing the financing for new store openings through bank partners, sale-leaseback partners, and equipment financing partners. Since Westward acquired the Company in February 2022, Three Bears has significantly expanded its retail footprint in Alaska, with 12 new location openings as of mid-2024, or a 63% increase in stores in roughly two years. Revenue and EBITDA have both grown considerably since close, and the Company has several additional new locations in the pipeline that are expected to open / be acquired during the next twelve months.
Consumer
Founded in 1977 in Washington State, Superfeet Worldwide (“Superfeet” or the “Company”) is the leading manufacturer of premium insoles for consumers seeking everyday comfort or peak athletic performance, supported by nearly 50 years of podiatric background. Historically the products have been distributed in specialty outdoor and run, as well as e-commerce, big box retail, and sporting goods outlets, where they have a leading market share.
Westward acquired Superfeet in June 2021 with excitement around growing the core trim-to-fit brand through both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce, as well as expanding the Company’s nascent technology related to custom insoles for consumer retail, as well as medical grade applications. Since the acquisition, Westward has led the execution of three bolt-on acquisitions, two of which have supercharged Superfeet’s 3D printing technology and enabled the Company to own its own destiny with regard to customized insoles; the third acquisition has helped Superfeet rapidly expand its presence in the medical grade insole market where customized insoles are sold through podiatrists, physical therapists, and other clinicians. Westward has also been instrumental in advocating and driving Superfeet’s entry into the Work and Enterprise space, where the Company is now working with medium and large businesses and factories to outfit their employees with insoles on the job. Superfeet’s insoles have been proven through white papers to help increase productivity, decrease injuries, and improve overall efficiency and health of workers across the country.
Business Services
Based in Anchorage, Alaska, Grant Aviation (“Grant” or the “Company”) is the largest Part 135 carrier in Alaska and 6th largest small certified air logistics carrier in the US. The Company is the leader in rural transportation of cargo and people to remote communities in Alaska, offering USPS Bypass Mail-Freight, Essential Air Service, Passenger flights, and Medical Transport. We like to say that Grant operates the Alaskan version of the toll road, the school bus, the ambulance, the final mile delivery truck, and the postal truck, Enabling the Alaskan Way of Life. It is so much more than a business; it is as essential to Alaskans as roads are in the Lower 48.
Westward acquired the business in February of 2021 and immediately purchased strategic planes, terminals, and hangars, priming the Company to become the leader in mail-freight, essential services, and passenger flights. Over the past ~4 years, Westward has helped bring Grant to the next level by augmenting the management team (Gabe Kompkoff joined as CFO in late 2021, and was promoted to CEO in early 2024), optimize the Company’s cost of capital by bringing in JP Morgan as lender, and grow the company through the strategic acquisition of Tanana, a smaller part 135 carrier. As of mid-2024, EBITDA has more than tripled since the acquisition in 2021.
For nearly 35 years, Cost Management Services (“CMS” or the “Company”), which is headquartered in Sumner, WA, has been simplifying its customers’ lives by serving as a trusted partner for their total energy management needs. CMS began when founder Doug Betzold received a letter explaining that gas markets had been deregulated and he now had a choice for service. The problem was, there was no place to go that explained the options. So, in 1989 CMS began providing customers with unparalleled consulting services and competitive pricing for their energy needs. Today the Company serves over 110 Pacific Northwest customers from manufacturing and food processing plants to medical facilities and local government entities.
Westward acquired CMS in April 2021 and has helped the business grow its service offering which now includes fixed and variable natural gas, green energy, electric solutions, in addition to the mainstays of cost savings analysis, and monitoring the labyrinth of state laws and regulations to ensure customers remain in compliance, and are kept abreast of the constant changes to optimize their energy usage and keep costs low. As of the end of 2023, EBITDA had doubled since acquisition.
Curtis Industrial (“Curtis” or the “Company”) is a diversified services company focused on industrial maintenance, environmental recycling, logistics, and steel recycling. Over its nearly 55-year history, Curtis has evolved into a critical partner for the steel industry in Saskatchewan due to its specialized expertise and strong safety track record. In addition, Curtis Environmental has a 35+ year track record providing environmentally friendly container recycling services to the agricultural industries in Alberta and Saskatchewan and more recently in Manitoba. Led by a team of seasoned industry veterans and headquartered in Regina, Saskatchewan, Curtis has grown over the years by creating solutions for its customers. The business operates in three core divisions: Curtis Industrial, Curtis Environmental, and Curtis Construction.
Westward invested in Curtis in 2013 and has since acquired the remaining share of a Joint Venture partner not originally owned by Curtis. Westward has worked with management to broaden the Company’s capabilities and business lines, doubling down on the environmental recycling business in recent years. We have also been instrumental in helping Curtis restructure and optimize their long-term contracts with major customers to provide added stability and visibility into future earnings, enabling the company to maintain and foster its multi-talented workforce. Westward recently led the recruitment of a new CFO in 2023, who has already made a big impact with regard to strategic planning and following through on execution.