Auxo Investment Partners acquires Bernal LLC and Atlas LLC (including Atlas Chem Milling). Auxo is a Grand Rapids, MI based Private Equity firm that specializes in investing and in growing manufacturing companies. Auxo's differentiated approach centers around taking an active-ownership and long-hold approach to their holdings.

Bernal, Atlas, and Auxo begin a process of integrating the companies and capitalizing on the synergies and extensive experience and knowledge across the different divisions. The goal of the integration is to offer the most comprehensive and extensive tooling offering in the industry.

Bernal specializes in large-format solid rotary tooling and custom specialty systems equipment, while Atlas specializes in Steel Rule Dies and flexible rotary tooling. Collectively, the companies offer the largest product breadth in the world.

Bernal acquires Midway Rotary Dies, an industry-leading manufacturing of narrow-web solid rotary tooling. The addition of Midway to the platform further enhances the overall product offering by allowing the group of companies to offer tooling for any size rotary press, and increasing the capabilities in crush-cut die applications.

The culmination of a 2-year integration effort results in the creation of the Impact umbrella brand. While each company still retains its own brand identity, the Impact umbrella helps solidify the collaboration between the divisions and emphasizes the all-encompassing solutions offering that the companies offer collectively.

Midway's acquisition of DieCraft expanded the company's geographical reach into the West Coast and Central American markets, and increase the capacity in the pressure-sensitive solid rotary die product line.

The aquisition of GC Dies, a Chicago-area manufacturer of flat and rotary Steel Rule Dies, increases the manufacturing capacity of Atlas SRD and increases the capability to include rotary corrugated Steel Rule Dies.