Huron Capital Partners LLC has announced its specialty coatings ExecFactor platform, Valentus Specialty Chemicals, Inc., has acquired North Brunswick, NJ-based National Paint Industries, Inc. (“NPI”).  Huron Capital formed Valentus in partnership with coatings industry veterans Ray Chlodney, John Ragazzini, and Bob Taylor to pursue a buy-and-build initiative in the industrial coatings sector.  The U.S. coatings market is fragmented and large with annual revenues of $22 billion, according to the ChemQuest Group.

NPI is a manufacturer of high-performance specialty coatings used in residential and commercial flooring, industrial protective maintenance, pool, marine and other applications.  The company has been owned and operated by brothers Mike and Don Schnurr, whose father founded the business in 1959. As a result of the acquisition, the Schnurr brothers have become significant shareholders in Valentus and will serve on its board of directors. They will continue to run the day-to-day operations at NPI.

Ray Chlodney said, “We believe Mike and Don Schnurr have done a great job building the NPI business, and we are excited to have them join the Valentus team.  In partnership with Huron Capital, we will be actively looking for other specialty coatings companies that are complementary to NPI as we continue to grow the Valentus platform.”

Chlodney currently serves as the CEO of Valentus, Ragazzini is the CFO, and Taylor is a member of Valentus’ board of directors.  Chlodney was formerly the President and COO of Spraylat Corporation, where Ragazzini also served as CFO.  Taylor was formerly President and CEO of the Decorative Coatings division of Akzo Nobel NV.

Mike Beauregard, Senior Partner at Huron Capital, added, “We are proud of the team we have assembled for Valentus. Huron Capital has been an active investor in the specialty chemicals and films sector for over 10 years, having now acquired our tenth company in this market.  The Huron Capital team is a big believer in ExecFactor, our executive-led market entry model.  We believe NPI is a great acquisition for Valentus, and we expect there will be similar deals ahead.” Mark Miller, Vice President at Huron Capital, added, “We believe our veteran leadership team is poised to build a market-leading business with superior coatings technologies and a broad geographic reach. We are excited to work with Chlodney, Ragazzini, and Taylor on this initiative.”