Our Industrial Technology & Sustainability Investment Thesis
See our Global Private Equity team’s thesis, including target sectors,
investment criteria and our transaction experience.
As we consider investment opportunities for our Global Private Equity platform, we assess significant macro drivers that will fuel technological innovation, growth and investment over the next decade. Of particular interest we’ve noted the confluence of challenges created by aging infrastructure, climate change, population migration, energy transition and resource scarcity and the need for innovative solutions to meet these issues.
These challenges have created contemporary macro drivers that provide businesses with opportunity to innovate and develop unique solutions that will serve the needs of global industry for years to come. As industry continues its journey to address challenges from climate change, increased regulation, global and migrating global population, energy transition requirements and more, opportunities increasingly exist for nimble and innovative businesses to rise to the challenge.
The industrial technology & sustainability sectors we are targeting are as follows:
Process & Resource Optimization
Energy Resilience
Circular Economy
Critical Infrastructure Solutions
Our Investment Thesis
We focus on investment opportunities that align with our thesis, which can be summarized by the following criteria
- Proven solutions addressing global sustainability demands
- Above market growth
- Differentiated business models or solutions
- "Surround the customer", providing support, aftermarket parts and services
- Digitalize the customer experience
- Recurring or re-occurring revenue models
Baird Capital has a 35+ year track record of investing within the industrial technology & sustainability ecosystem across the globe, which gives us a global perspective on the characteristics of successful market leaders. We are actively pursuing new investment opportunities in North America and the United Kingdom, particularly those with international expansion potential where our experience, global network, and resources can add meaningful value. Prior representative investments in the space include:
- autoLOTO – a cloud-based software and services platform that automates and manages Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) procedures to protect workers from hazardous electrical and mechanical energy. autoLOTO replaces paper-based logs with a real-time mobile app and digital-twin technology that validates each energy-isolation step against NFPA 70E/70B, NEC and IEEE standards, making safety execution clear, enforceable and auditable.
- cleanwater1 – a provider of water quality management solutions to municipal and industrial water and wastewater markets. Cleanwater1 safeguards the safety and quality of the critical drinking-water and wastewater supply- an area underpinned by durable tailwinds including water scarcity, tightening quality regulation and aging infrastructure.
- ecube – provider of aircraft end-of-life services including disassembly and component recycling. The company entered the North American market in late 2022 after opening its third global facility in Arizona. The leading aircraft disassembly provider also has existing sites in Castellón, Spain, and headquarters in St Athan, UK. ecube enables the reuse or recycles a remarkable minimum of 93% of the materials from every aircraft disassembled and is a key part of the global aerospace circular economy.
- Subsea Technology & Rentals - independent subsea survey rental equipment and specialist services provider, supporting the energy transition and the rapidly growing offshore renewable energy sector as the world works to reduce its dependencies on fossil fuels. We anticipate continued significant investment in offshore wind in each of our core geographies alongside a renewed focus on extending the life of existing oil & gas assets. This will drive further opportunities for STR to add capabilities and build out its global operations to support its customers, both organically and via M&A.
What’s Next?
We have identified six macro trends that will continue to drive us forward in identifying investment opportunities that align with our thesis:
Water Scarcity / Quality
Aging Infrastructure
Climate Change
Decarbonization
Re-shoring / Near-shoring
Circular Economy
To learn more about our track record, please click on a portfolio investment logo, or contact a member of the investment team listed below. We look forward to hearing from you.
