Iowa-based dry cast concrete machinery specialist HawkeyePedershaab Concrete Technologies Inc. has announced formation of a parent company, Afinitas. Since 2017, management notes, HawkeyePedershaab has been building out a vision of creating a global, comprehensive, customer-oriented infrastructure equipment and services platform, acquiring New Hampton Metal Fabrication Corp., New Hampton, Iowa; BFS Betonfertigteilesysteme GmbH, Blaubeuren, Germany; and, most recently, CAM Sales Inc., Ludington, Mich.
Afinitas supports the strength of each of the businesses in the marketplace, while offering a unifying umbrella. The name is a derivation of the Latin word for alliance, underscoring both the lasting relationships between each company and its customers, as well as the synergistic potential unleashed through their alignment.
“Even though these companies have only been together under one umbrella for a short time, I’m extremely pleased and energized by the new opportunities that have been unlocked for the group and our customers,” says Afinitas President Brad Schmidgall. “We’re seeing multiple examples where we’ve been able to leverage the service reach and sales network of one company to provide new and value-added solutions for the customers of another.”
More than 350 team members in eight global locations are part of the growing Afinitas platform, which aims to connect the world through infrastructure via mindful expansion, he adds. Currently, the platform has three divisions, each with distinct brands, capabilities and leadership teams: HawkeyePedershaab and BFS (dry-cast equipment), New Hampton Metal Fab (wet-cast forming), and CAM Sales (consumables).
“In addition to providing value and benefits for customers, our vision for Afinitas is equally about using the scale, breadth and diversity of the platform to provide stability and security for team members,” observes Vice President of Finance Mike Kiefer. “We’ll never be able to completely avoid the cyclical nature of the markets we serve, but our exposure to an increased diversity of end products and geographies mitigates this risk to a significant degree. We want to foster a stable environment in which our team members can thrive.”
“We will continue to thoughtfully and carefully build out the Afinitas platform with a mix of organic growth and strategic acquisitions,” affirms Chairman Ryan Gable. “As we execute our strategy, we will ensure that our organization will continue to grow in its ability to innovate, care for customers and provide development opportunities for team members.”