DETROIT – October 29, 2026 -- Speyside Equity Advisers has completed its acquisition of The TAPCO Tube Company, a Midwest manufacturer of steel tubing and building products that operates under the Tapco Tube and Akron Building Products brands. The announcement did not include financial terms.
Speyside targets plant throughput and product mix at TAPCO
Nicholas Lardo, Managing Director at Speyside, said TAPCO offers a "meaningful opportunity to improve plant throughput." He also named an expansion of the value-added product mix and growth in the building products channel as priorities. Speyside plans to invest in the people and equipment needed to scale the business.
TAPCO President David Schrader described the deal as the start of a new chapter that builds on the company's legacy of several decades.
TAPCO's two segments serve contractors, OEMs and home improvement retailers
Founded in the 1940s, TAPCO began as a manufacturer of branded jack and column supports before vertically integrating into electric resistance welded (ERW) steel tubing.
The Tapco Tube segment supplies steel tubing to construction contractors, distributors and OEMs. Its end markets include construction, infrastructure, agricultural and general industrial users. The Akron Building Products segment supplies jacks and columns to home improvement retailers and regional hardware distributors nationwide. Those products are used mainly in residential renovation and new construction. TAPCO operates a manufacturing facility in Meadville, Pennsylvania.
Honigman and The DAK Group advised on the transaction
Honigman LLP acted as Speyside's legal advisor, and The DAK Group served as TAPCO's financial advisor. Speyside is a Detroit-based private equity firm that invests in middle-market manufacturing and value-added distribution businesses.