Northborne Partners

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, August 6, 2021 – Northborne Partners acted as financial advisor to Trafficade Service Companies (“Trafficade” or the “Company”) in its announced sale of its traffic safety divisions to Area Wide Protective (“AWP”), a portfolio company of Kohlberg & Company. The transaction excludes Trafficade’s trench shoring and asphalt paving and milling operations, which will continue to operate independently as Trench-Ade, LLC. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Trafficade’s traffic safety businesses provide complete traffic control solutions, including traffic control planning, traffic control equipment rental and service, sign manufacturing and installation, flagging services and safety product sales. The Company was founded in 1990 by Jeff Johnson who has served as Trafficade’s CEO up until the time of the transaction. Jeff started Trafficade as a high-school senior with a handful of homemade barricades working out of his parent’s garage. With a lot of hard work, determination and dedication to a higher level of customer service, the Company grew to become a leading traffic services player in the Southwest United States. Today, Trafficade is a diversified company that employs over 300 people with five operating divisions and six branch locations throughout Arizona.

Jeff Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Trafficade commented, “We are excited about our partnership with AWP and the next phase of growth. Together, we will be able to support our customers in more geographies and deliver a best-in-class service offering.”

Regarding Northborne’s involvement in the transaction, Jeff added, “AWP is a highly experienced acquirer owned by a major private equity firm, so I am particularly happy to have had Northborne Partners in my corner for this once-in-a-lifetime transaction. Paul Jevnick and Chris Klotsche proved to be invaluable partners throughout the negotiation and due diligence processes. True professionals, they had my back all the way, and I am very pleased with the result.”

About Northborne Partners

Northborne Partners is a preeminent middle market investment banking firm focused on providing M&A advisory services to companies in the food & consumer, healthcare and industrials sectors, among others. It focuses on advising private business owners in the sale of their companies and has decades of experience sitting across the table from the most seasoned strategic and private equity buyers in the world. Northborne Partners is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. For more information, please visit www.northborne.com.

About Trafficade and Trench-Ade

Founded in 1990, Trafficade is a diversified company that employs over 300 people with five operating divisions and six branch locations throughout Arizona. The company has shown impressive growth and has a customer-centric culture that is known throughout the industry as your “Partner in the Work Zone.” The Trafficade brand name is also synonymous with prompt, dependable and friendly service. Its five operating divisions cover its customers’ complete work zone needs. Trafficade’s traffic safety businesses provide complete traffic control solutions, including traffic control planning, traffic control equipment rental and service, sign manufacturing and installation, flagging services and safety product sales. Trench-Ade provides trench shoring, steel road plates, trench paving, patch paving, pavement milling and pavement saw cutting services. The Trench-Ade business is being retained by Jeff Johnson and will operate as an independent company going forward.

About AWP

Founded in 1993, AWP is North America’s leading provider of professional traffic management and protection services. The combined company will serve thousands of customers on a daily basis with more than 130 facilities across 27 states and eastern Canada. Along with the AWP’s announced signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Trafficade’s traffic safety divisions, AWP announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Statewide Safety Systems (“Statewide”), a traffic control services provider based in Irvine, California. Together, AWP, Trafficade and Statewide will have the scale, resources and coast-to-coast reach to deliver superior traffic control and safety services. Customers will benefit from an enhanced service offering, with both new technological capabilities and increased support and resources, including more than 6,500 employees across the organization.