Bertram Capital Expands Industrial Distribution Portfolio Through Partnership with Motion & Control Enterprises

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Oct. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Bertram Capital ("Bertram") announced today its investment in Motion & Control Enterprises LLC ("MCE" or the "Company"), a leading engineered solutions distributor of flow control, motion systems, and rotating equipment products and services to industrial customers across the United States. Bertram's investment will support the continued expansion of MCE's product offering, service capabilities, and geographic reach. MCE represents Bertram's seventh platform investment in Fund V. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Bertram acquired MCE from Frontenac, a Chicago-based private equity firm, which formed the company in 2018 through the acquisition of RitterTech. MCE has completed 27 total acquisitions, expanding its product breadth, service and repair capabilities, and regional density. Charley Hale will continue to lead the Company as Chief Executive Officer, and the existing leadership team will remain in place and retain meaningful investment in the Company. Bertram brings deep experience in industrial distribution, as well as the resources of Bertram Labs, its in-house technology team.

"MCE has successfully built a differentiated national platform, with the products, application engineering, and service capabilities customers rely on to keep critical equipment running," said Kevin Yamashita, Managing Partner at Bertram Capital. "We have known Charley for many years and are excited to be partnering with him and the MCE team to scale the business, both organically and through acquisitions."

"Charley's strategic vision and approach to growth align closely with how we think at Bertram," said Chris Brown, Partner at Bertram Capital. "MCE checks every box for us as an investment. We look forward to working with Charley and the MCE team to support the company's next chapter."

Headquartered in Zelienople, Pennsylvania, MCE serves more than 25,000 customers from 50 locations across the U.S. The Company pairs a comprehensive product offering from approximately 850 supplier partners with application engineering, vendor-managed inventory, and service and repair support across the full equipment lifecycle. The Company's customers span a diverse set of industrial end markets driven by stable maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) demand.

"Over the past eight years, we have built MCE into a trusted technical partner for our customers and suppliers, adding capabilities through strategic acquisitions along the way," said Charley Hale, CEO of MCE. "Bertram stood out through its understanding of our business and its experience supporting acquisition-driven platforms. We look forward to working alongside a partner that values our people and supports our vision for the platform we're creating."

Bertram would like to recognize the investment banking team at Solomon Partners, MCE's sell-side advisor, led by Jason Kliewer and Nick Troyer, for their efforts in this transaction. Bertram also thanks BMO for its support as buy-side advisor, Hirschler for its support as legal counsel, and Ares and Antares for providing debt financing in support of the transaction.

About Motion & Control Enterprises

Motion & Control Enterprises is a leading engineered solutions distributor serving industrial customers across the United States. Headquartered in Zelienople, Pennsylvania, MCE provides products, application engineering, vendor-managed inventory, and service and repair solutions across three segments: Motion Systems, Flow Control, and Rotating Equipment & Controls. With more than 700 employees and 50 locations, the Company partners with leading suppliers to help customers maximize uptime and productivity across a diverse range of end markets. For more information, visit www.mceautomation.com.

About Bertram Capital

Bertram Capital is a private equity firm targeting investments in lower middle-market companies. Since its inception in 2006, the firm has raised over $4.0 billion in capital commitments. In addition to providing strategic growth capital, Bertram Capital seeks to leverage proprietary processes and services, Bertram High-5℠ and Bertram Labs, to empower its portfolio companies to unlock their full potential.

Bertram High-5℠ is an operationally focused value-creation strategy that includes management augmentation, operational initiatives, complementary acquisitions, sales and marketing improvements, and technology integration. The cornerstone of this strategy is Bertram Labs, its in-house technology team, which drives growth through digital marketing, e-commerce, big data and analytics, application development, and platform optimization.

Bertram Capital V focuses on control investments in business services, consumer, and industrial sectors with EBITDA above $7.5 million. Bertram Ignite I focuses on both control and non-control investments in similar sectors, with a minimum EBITDA of $3 million.

For more information, visit www.bcap.com.

About Frontenac

Frontenac is a Chicago-based private equity firm. The firm focuses on investing in lower middle market buyout transactions in the consumer, industrial, and services industries. Frontenac works in partnership with established operating leaders, through an executive-centric approach called CEO1ST®, which seeks to identify, acquire, and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and operational excellence. Over the last 55 years, Frontenac has built a franchise working with over 350 owners of mid-sized businesses as they address complex transition issues of liquidity, management enhancement, and growth planning.

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SOURCE Bertram Capital