Hospitality, Interior Design, Procurement, and Project Management Providers Vertically Integrated Projects and Boston Trade International Announce Merger to Create Industry Leader

BLOOMINGDALE, Ill. and HUDSON, Mass., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Vertically Integrated Products (VIP), one of the nation's leading providers of interior design, procurement, and project management services for hospitality providers, and their partner Blackford Capital today announced the completion of a transaction with the owners of Boston Trade International (BTI) to merge the two companies to create an industry powerhouse.  The newly established nationwide entity, Boston Trade Interior Solutions, brings more than 80 years of experience to the North American market.

Boston Trade Interior Solutions will be jointly owned by Blackford Capital, and the management teams at VIP and BTI, including Pravin and Sudhir Patel, highly respected pioneers in fixtures, furnishings, and equipment (FF&E) for the hospitality industry. Leadership teams at both companies, including VIP CEO Greg Kadens and COO Charles Tichelbaut and Jill Kowalski, Vice President of Project Services, will continue to lead the merged company, which will maintain its staff and operations and will have design showrooms in the Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco areas.

BTI has grown its business through proprietary sourcing and strong relationships with manufacturers as the hospitality industry demanded a more holistic procurement program and integrated design and delivery. VIP followed a parallel path serving all major national hotel brands and independents with solutions ranging from interior design to full FF&E sourcing programs, project management, and logistics for hotels across all chain scale segments.

"The combination of these two companies, both known for industry-leading quality and service, provides operators and hoteliers with best-in-class expertise and product sourcing, as well as cutting-edge design and value engineering that meets the needs of guests at all stages and lifestyles," said Pravin Patel, CEO of BTI. "This increase in size allows us to offer more purchasing power and flexibility to our customers, while continuing to ensure scale and capabilities at the cutting edge of the industry."

With the completion of the transaction, Boston Trade Interior Solutions creates a national footprint for industry-leading turnkey solutions, including interior design, procurement, project management and logistics services. The Company's distinct service opportunities in design and sourcing provide a variety of custom solutions and services that promote post-COVID health and safety measures, which are especially important as the industry emerges from pandemic-related challenges.

"The past year has been a time of unprecedented challenges for the hotel and hospitality industry," said Greg Kadens, CEO of VIP. "As the industry successfully moves into the next phase of recovery, we want to be the partner they look to for the best values, guest pleasing and creative interior design solutions and the most attentive service. Merging with BTI gives us the scale, technology and team to provide those mission critical solutions that our clients will require to serve the needs of their guests."

"This is a bold investment in a compelling industry at a challenging time.  With this transaction, we have combined two of the top companies into an industry-leader that is poised to offer even more value, more services, and more capabilities to our customers," said Martin Stein, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the newly formed Boston Trade Interior Solutions. "We believe that the combination of Boston Trade and VIP will create a highly innovative company that is at the forefront of sourcing, design, and service while being the most cost competitive option available. We have the utmost confidence in our leadership team, in our industry partners, in our business model, and in the long-term viability and prospects of the hospitality FF&E industry. We expect to be sharing additional exciting news in the coming months as we have aggressive plans for the future."

Dickinson Wright PLLC, Polsinelli PC, Honigman LLP, and King & Spaulding LLP served as legal advisors; and Midland State Bank and Assurance Mezzanine Fund provided financing. Rush Street Capital provided capital market advisory services and Plante Moran provided deal structure and accounting services.

About Vertically Integrated Products
Renovating, converting, or building a hotel can be a complicated task, but it does not have to be. At Vertically Integrated Projects, every client is treated like a VIP and we make sure your project is hassle free, on time and on budget. Since 1985, we've completed thousands of hotel projects nationwide. With VIP, you can rely on a professional solutions provider to design & manage your next hotel project from beginning to end. We bring value, experience and industry-leading service to all projects.

About Boston Trade International
Boston Trade provides interior design and FF&E procurement solutions customized to meet the specific needs of each project. From select service to full-service hotels, independent property owners to multi-property franchisees, Boston Trade has serviced the hospitality industry across the US since 1979.

About Blackford Capital 
Founded in 2010, Blackford Capital is a private equity investment firm headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Blackford Capital makes majority control investments in founder and family-owned, lower middle-market manufacturing, distribution, and services companies. Currently, Blackford Capital has eleven portfolio companies. Blackford and their team members have received a number of recognitions over the past several years, including M&A Adviser Private Equity Firm of the year, Corp. Magazine Small Company of the Year (Michigan), GR Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year (West Michigan), numerous recognitions on the Inc. 5000 fastest growing private companies list and M&A Adviser Private Equity Professional of the Year (Martin Stein). For more information, visit blackfordcapital.com.

Contact: 
Lisa Lark
Lambert & Co.
(313) 410-8477
[email protected] 

SOURCE Vertically Integrated Products; Blackford Capital; Boston Trade Interior Solutions

Related Links

https://www.blackfordcapital.com

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