Speyside buys Pennsylvania steel tubing maker Tapco Tube
What's the deal? Detroit-based private equity firm Speyside EquityDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has acquired The Tapco TubeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Company, a Midwest manufacturer of steel tubing and building products. Terms were not disclosed. The deal closed in October 2026.
What does Tapco do? Founded in the 1940s, Tapco operates a manufacturing facility in Meadville, Pennsylvania, under two brands. Its Tapco Tube segment makes electric resistance welded (ERW) steel tubing for construction, infrastructure, agricultural, and industrial markets; its Akron Building Products segment makes jacks and columns for residential renovation and new construction.
The strategic rationale: Speyside invests in middle-market manufacturing and value-added distribution, often through carve-outs, consolidations, and family-owned businesses. It plans to fund Tapco's next growth phase.
What's the endgame? Nicholas Lardo, managing director at Speyside, said Tapco is a "well-established manufacturer with loyal customers" with room "to improve plant throughput, expand its value-added product mix, and grow its building products channel."
David Schrader, president of Tapco, said the company will "continue to build on the legacy we've established over the past several decades" in partnership with Speyside.
Why now? The deal lands amid consolidation in the tubing sector. In September, Bull Moose TubeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → completed its acquisition of Hanna SteelDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, combining structural and mechanical tubing operations.
The signal: Speyside has been building its industrial portfolio this year, including Reed Minerals' August acquisition of U.S. MineralsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Tapco marks another privately held manufacturer changing hands in a consolidating market — though without disclosed terms, the broader impact is hard to gauge.
Read more: prnewswire.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
