Pillsman Partners

Pillsman Partners

Pillsman Partners launched in 2012 when Edwin Burke and Chris Eichmann — whose combined experience spans investment banking, private equity, and operating roles — chose to structure the firm as an independent sponsor rather than a traditional fund. That architectural choice governs everything: the two managing partners are the sole investment committee, and they raise capital deal-by-deal, which eliminates the clock that committed-fund managers face. The firm targets owner-led lower-middle-market companies with $2–$15 million in EBITDA, concentrating on industrial, manufacturing, specialty-chemicals, and oil-and-gas businesses in North America. The strategy is disciplined buy-and-build — Pillsman acquires platform companies and pursues add-on acquisitions to professionalize operations, sharpen commercial strategy, and scale. The firm describes its hold periods as 3 to 9 years, measured not by IRR velocity but by the multiple of capital returned. Confirmed portfolio positions include Printware, a maker of high-speed digital inkjet presses for direct-mail and specialty-print markets (acquired 2025), and PowerVac, a story the firm publicly frames as a case study in disciplined growth. Pillsman operates throughout the United States, with a presence across the industrial Midwest and broader North American supply chains. Since 2012 the firm has completed 7 platform investments and 23 add-on acquisitions. It maintains a deliberately concentrated portfolio — only a few partner companies at any time — so that Burke and Eichmann can remain the sole day-to-day relationship leads, supported by a network of senior advisors who are former CEOs and industry operators. In March 2026, the firm announced the Printware acquisition in a blog post and appeared on the Minds Capital podcast to discuss its partnership model. Pillsman does not disclose assets under management, consistent with its deal-by-deal capital-raising structure. Structurally, Pillsman’s two-person investment committee and unwavering refusal to raise a blind pool set it apart from the majority of middle-market private-equity managers. There is no pressure to deploy committed capital, no junior-deal-team handoffs, and no tension between fund-cycle incentives and operating-company needs. The firm calls the model "classic in what we do, bespoke in how we do it." In practice, that means Burke and Eichmann write the cheque, sit on the board, and answer the phone — an architecture that turns their own accountability into a sourcing advantage with founders who want a partner rather than an exit.