Private Investment For Great Lakes Based Manufacturing Businesses
Target Sectors:
Manufacturing
Value-Added Distribution
$10-50M+
Target Platform Revenue
$2-4M+
Target Platform EBITDA
Our Approach
Private Investment
Colfax Creek is a private investment firm based in Birmingham, Michigan. We focus on manufacturing and industrial service companies with recurring revenue, high free cash flow, and $2–$4 million of EBITDA. These are often businesses with a strong strategic identity—a “hedgehog”—but facing ownership succession, operational complexity, or addressable risks.
Long-Term Partnership
We invest our own committed capital and take a long-term approach—no institutional fundraising, no artificial timelines. Our goal is simple: to support closely held companies and great management teams in building lasting value.
Great Lakes Focused
Jason Duzan, our founder, has invested in Great Lakes-based businesses for over 25 years. His experience spans $2B+ in transactions and multiple top-decile outcomes. Jason’s style is calm, candid, and execution-focused. We pride ourselves on doing what we say, treating people right, and backing operators, not second-guessing them.
Investment Guidelines
(Not Rules)
Geography
Great Lake States – operations within a drive from Detroit
Industry Focus
Contract Manufacturing | Original Equipment Manufacturing | Industrial Services
Business Model
Recurring revenue, high free cash flow, and strategic focus
Ownership
Control investments in closely held, non-sponsor companies with proven management
Company EBITDA
$2 million to $4 million with 10% or greater cash flow margins
No Jerk Rule
Life’s too short to work with people you don’t like
Values
We play the long game with permanent capital, do what we say, and succeed through others.
Great outcomes don’t happen by accident—they’re built on clear values, lived consistently. At Colfax Creek, our approach isn’t driven by fund cycles or quarterly optics. It’s driven by a long-term commitment to people, partnerships, and compounding value.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
Permanent Capital—No Institutional Clock
We invest our own committed capital, not LP funds. That means no artificial deadlines, no “next-fund” distractions—just a shared focus on long-term value.
Operator-Centered Partnership—Tools, Not Micromanagement
We back leaders with a proven Colfax Creek Playbook, aligned incentives, and decision-making speed—One-person decision-making—no committees, no games.
Culture of Integrity—No-Jerk Rule Enforced
We act with humility, transparency, and respect. Life’s too short to work with jerks, peacocks, or drama queens.
These values aren’t just how we operate—they’re why sellers trust us, why teams stay, and why companies thrive long after the close.
Insights
For over the past 25 years, Jason Duzan has led more than 20 private equity transactions across the industrial, consumer, and service sectors. Since founding Colfax Creek in 2017, he has completed six acquisitions and two successful divestitures. We are always reading, listening, and talking to experts.
Colfax Creek’s Addison Traverse Acquires Performance Stamping
BIRMINGHAM, MI – Colfax Creek Capital, a long-term investor in Midwest manufacturers, has acquired Performance Stamping, a Chicago-area manufacturer of precision metal stampings and fabricated components based in Carpentersville, Illinois. Founded in the 1940s,...
Colfax Creek Recapitalizes Premier Engineered Products
BIRMINGHAM, MI – Colfax Creek led the recapitalization of its portfolio company, Premier Engineered Products, in partnership with MidCap Business Credit, which has provided a new credit facility to fuel the company’s growth. Premier Engineered Products operates...
Colfax Creek Acquires Dial Manufacturing Solutions
BIRMINGHAM, MI – Colfax Creek Capital, a long-term investor in Midwest manufacturers, has acquired Dial Manufacturing Solutions, a third-generation family business based in Addison, Illinois. Dial specializes in small-part stampings and over-molded plastic components...
Fluence Automation Joins BlueCrest: A Case Study in Strategic Execution
Fluence Automation, a provider of automation systems for the postal and parcel industries, has been acquired by BlueCrest, a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. This marks the successful transition of Fluence from corporate division to independent...
Case Study: Colfax Creek Drives Value at GLE Precision
Colfax Creek acquired GLE Precision with a simple mission: turn a niche manufacturer into a market leader through steady stewardship and operational excellence. Six years later, Colfax Creek drives value at GLE Precision. The Opportunity Based in Bridgeport,...
Hyperion Materials & Technologies acquires GLE Precision
WORTHINGTON, Ohio — Hyperion Materials & Technologies, a leading global materials science company that develops hard and super-hard materials for a wide range of industries and applications, announced today it has acquired GLE...
Companies
Since 2017 Colfax Creek has completed six acquisitions and two successful divestitures. We are intentionally selective of the businesses we work with.
Manufacturing and Industrial Service Focused
Located in Midwest and Great Lakes Region
Strong Strategic Identity
Healthy EBITDA
The right steward for our 68-year family business—Colfax Creek was the clear fit.
Keen judgment and calm through growth—Jason balances calculated risk with down-to-earth style.
The rare buyer who felt like a true partner—I’d choose Jason again and again
Jason brought calm, strategic direction with disciplined financial and investment judgment—while inspiring the team
GLE Precision
Industrial | Acquired in 2021