Contact us

Dura-Line Case Study

portfolio_dura-line

Details

Dura-Line is a leading international manufacturer and distributor of communication and energy infrastructure products and systems including conduit, cable-in-conduit, pipe, and accessories.   The company is based in Knoxville, Tennessee.  www.duraline.com

Investment Merits

  • Global market leader with entrenched customer relationships
  • Diversified blue-chip customer base and end-markets
  • Positive industry dynamics driven by global build-out of telecom, energy and water infrastructure
  • Fragmented industry with actionable add-on acquisition opportunities
  • Proven ability to perform through economic downturns

Key Accomplishments

  • Enhanced management team, recruiting five direct reports to CEO
  • Professionalized board of directors; added four independent directors with applicable industry experience
  • Diversified end-market exposure from primarily telecom to more balanced telecom, energy, general infrastructure mix
  • Enhanced geographic footprint and end-market mix through two add-on acquisitions
  • Executed performance improvement plan focused on procurement, manufacturing optimization, margin management and working capital management

Company Performance & Value Creation

 

Note: MoIC = multiple of invested capital 

Share
Recent Press Releases

5215 Old Orchard Road
Suite 905
Skokie, IL 60077

© 2024 Onward Capital LLC. All rights reserved.

Marcus George

Partner

Marcus founded Onward Capital in 2015. He is responsible for developing investment theses, executing transactions and leading value creation within the portfolio. He is a member of the board of directors of each of Onward’s portfolio companies.

Prior to Onward Capital, Marcus was a Partner at Code Hennessy and Simmons.  He spent 18 years there, reviewed hundreds of investment opportunities and executed dozens of transactions across a variety of industries.

Prior to CHS, Marcus worked in the Corporate Finance Group of Heller Financial and he started his career at KPMG.

Marcus earned a BA in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. He lives in Park Ridge, Illinois with his wife and their two children.

Laura Lester

Partner

Laura founded Onward Capital in 2015. She is responsible for developing investment theses, executing transactions and leading value creation within the portfolio. She is a member of the board of directors of each of Onward’s portfolio companies.

Prior to Onward Capital, Laura spent over ten years at Code Hennessy and Simmons where she reviewed hundreds of investment opportunities and executed dozens of transactions across a variety of industries.

Early in her career, Laura worked in the Investment Banking Division of Lehman Brothers where she advised industrial companies and their boards on strategic alternatives.

Laura earned a BA in Economics from Cornell University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. She lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband and their three children.

Jack Tresley

Vice President

Jack joined Onward Capital in 2024.

Prior to Onward Capital, Jack was an Associate on the investing team at Granite Creek Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, where he evaluated, structured, executed, and managed both debt and equity investments across a wide range of lower middle market companies.

Prior to Granite Creek, Jack was an investment banking analyst at Metronome Partners, a Chicago-based investment bank, where he worked on a variety of sell-side transactions primarily for lower middle market companies.

Jack earned a BS in Finance from Indiana University, Bloomington – Kelley School of Business and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He lives in Lincoln Park with his wife.