MHS expands e-commerce fulfillment muscle with purchase of TGW unit

Material handling automation systems provider Material Handling Systems Inc. (MHS) has acquired the U.S. conveyors business arm of TGW Logistics Group, saying the move will help expand the company’s ability to serve the fast-growing e-commerce industry.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the firms said the transaction is expected to close in February and MHS will continue employing all current employees at the unit.

MHS said it will purchase TGW U.S. Conveyors, a Norton Shores, Michigan-based unit formerly known as Ermanco Inc. That division works across multiple distribution and fulfillment end-markets, including e-commerce, life sciences, food & beverage, and parcel freight & logistics.

Mt. Washington, Kentucky-based MHS said the deal would help accelerate its product strategy and growth plan so it is best positioned to serve its growing customer base. The move marks the latest in a quick series of MHS acquisitions in the past three years, following its purchase of eMotion Controls in 2020. MHS itself was taken over in 2017 by the private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners L.P. (THL) in a move to surf the rising wave of demand for e-commerce fulfillment automation products.

“TGW U.S. Conveyors has an impressive history of growth that dates back more than five decades,” MHS CEO and Co-Founder Scott McReynolds said in a release. “The company brings with it a strong employee base and leadership team. It also expands on our existing capabilities to serve the distribution and fulfillment market with a broader array of automation products and systems.”

Austria-based TGW said the move would also help sharpen its own concentration on meeting market needs, while still allowing it to continue operating its integration business unit, TGW Systems Inc., in the North American market. "Two different conveyor product lines were at odds with our strategic orientation,” TGW CEO Harald Schröpf said in a release. “It was important to us and we are therefore pleased to have found a strategic investor in MHS, who will continue the American division of the TGW Conveyor Business with all employees associated with this business.”