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Strength Capital
Strength Capital began in 2000 when Harvard Business School classmates Mark McCammon and Mike Bergeron relocated to Birmingham, Michigan, to build a...
Strength Capital
Strength Capital began in 2000 when Harvard Business School classmates Mark McCammon and Mike Bergeron relocated to Birmingham, Michigan, to build a private equity firm. The duo bootstrapped an operation that now deploys capital from three offices — Birmingham, Cincinnati, and Denver — with a 14-person team executing control buyouts in the lower middle market. The firm targets businesses generating $4 million to $25 million in EBITDA, and has realized $802 million in investment gains across its portfolio. The wealth origin is earned — the principals built the firm from scratch rather than managing a family fortune. The strategy centers on industrial consolidation in the Central United States. Strength acquires platform companies in manufacturing, distribution, infrastructure, and industrial services, then expands them through bolt-on acquisitions and organic growth. Portfolio companies illustrate the approach: Truesdell Corporation, a bridge-deck maintenance specialist, acquired Texas-based Beck-Reit and Sons; Grand Equipment Company, a Michigan construction-equipment dealer, became one of the state’s largest multi-line dealers under Strength’s ownership. Other active holdings span aerospace components (Universal Aerospace), civil engineering (ESP Associates; Kelchner), feed additives (Chemlock Nutrition), and specialty food distribution (DTM Distributors). Geographically, the portfolio extends from the Midwest to the Mountain West and Southwest. The firm has invested $711 million in equity since inception across 35 portfolio companies, generating a 15.8% net IRR. Operations run from three offices, with McCammon in Denver and Bergeron in Cincinnati. A recent structural move extended the hold period on engineering-services platform ESP Associates via a single-asset continuation vehicle, reflecting the firm’s willingness to manage assets beyond a typical fund life. Adjacent vehicles or club memberships are not publicly disclosed; the team operates as a traditional, closed-end private equity manager. Strength’s differentiation lies in its geographic and operational intensity rather than a novel structure. While many lower-middle-market firms claim operational expertise, Strength embeds operating partners directly into portfolio companies — Rob McCrae serves dual roles as Operating Partner and CEO of two portfolio businesses simultaneously. The firm further concentrates origination through a dedicated business-development principal, Jeff McCammon, focused solely on sourcing. This hardwired operator-originator model, applied to overlooked industrial niches in the Central U.S., creates an edge in markets where regional consolidation is the primary value driver.
General information
Firm type
Generalist
Year founded
2000
AUM
Undisclosed (Altss estimate: Under $500M based on $711M deployed since 2000)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Birmingham
Corporate office
102 Pierce Street, Birmingham, MI, United States
Additional offices
Cincinnati, OH · Denver, CO
Principals
Mark McCammon
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Mike Bergeron
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Ian Higgins
Partner
John Barrett
Principal
Steve Stefanko
Principal
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Strength Capital?
Investment decisions are led by Co-Founders and Managing Partners Mark McCammon (Denver) and Mike Bergeron (Cincinnati). McCammon focuses on sourcing, valuation, structuring, and oversight, while Bergeron concentrates on deal origination, portfolio collaboration, and capital raising. Partner Ian Higgins and Principals John Barrett and Steve Stefanko also drive due diligence and execution, with no external investment committee disclosed.
What is Strength Capital’s approach to deal sourcing?
Strength combines partner-led origination with a dedicated business-development function. Jeff McCammon, Principal of Business Development, runs a proprietary sourcing effort targeting industrial and distribution businesses in the Central U.S. The firm’s three offices in Birmingham, Cincinnati, and Denver create regional coverage, and portfolio company CEOs are directly involved in identifying add-on acquisition targets, as seen in Truesdell’s acquisition of Beck-Reit and Sons.
What types of transactions does Strength Capital pursue?
The firm executes control buyouts, management buyouts, recapitalizations, corporate divestitures, and spin-offs, with a heavy emphasis on platform acquisitions that become vehicles for industrial consolidation. It targets businesses with $4 million to $25 million in EBITDA. Strength also uses continuation vehicles to extend hold periods, demonstrated by its single-asset vehicle for ESP Associates.
Where does Strength Capital invest geographically?
Strength invests throughout the United States with a concentration in the Central U.S. Its portfolio spans Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, and beyond. The firm actively pursues industrial consolidation opportunities where it can grow regional champions by acquiring and integrating smaller competitors in adjacent geographies.
Which sectors does Strength Capital explicitly avoid?
Strength focuses explicitly on manufacturing, distribution, infrastructure, and industrial services. It has not disclosed an investment in software, healthcare, financial services, or consumer internet — sectors common among peers but absent from its 35-deal track record. The portfolio skews toward physical-asset, operations-intensive businesses rather than asset-light or technology-enabled models.
What is Strength Capital’s known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
The firm has not publicly marketed a co-investment program for external limited partners. Its model appears to be traditional closed-end fund investing. However, the recent ESP Associates continuation vehicle suggests the firm will collaborate with secondary investors to manage liquidity and duration for selected assets.
How does Strength Capital manage portfolio companies post-acquisition?
Operating Partner Rob McCrae holds simultaneous CEO roles at two portfolio companies — RW America and DTM Distributors — while providing strategic oversight to others. This embedded-operator model ensures direct control over operational execution. The firm also places dedicated M&A professionals like Director of Corporate Development Jordan Geiersbach inside platforms such as ESP Associates to lead add-on acquisition programs.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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