Sterling’s Newest Platform Does the Heavy Lifting

The Sterling Group's Foundation Fund has acquired Slingmax Group, a manufacturer of engineered slings and rope for heavy lifting and rigging, from River Associates.

Slingmax becomes a new platform for the Foundation Fund, the lower-middle-market strategy The Sterling Group launched in 2023. River Associates built the business over six years through a sequence of acquisitions, and the sale closed on September 30, 2026.



Slingmax Group designs, manufactures and distributes the slings and rope used to hoist, pull and secure heavy loads. Its products run from synthetic roundslings and wire rope slings to high-performance braided rope and custom-built rigging assemblies — the gear a crane operator or rigger attaches between the hook and the load so it can be lifted without failing.

Company owned brands include Slingmax Rigging Solutions, I&I Sling and Yale Cordage. The group is vertically integrated, designing and making much of what it sells rather than reselling other suppliers' products. Customers of Slingmax operate in the utilities, power generation, construction, infrastructure, marine, aerospace and manufacturing sectors.Slingmax Group, led by CEO Chris Chrisafides, is headquartered about 15 miles southwest of Philadelphia in Aston, Pennsylvania. I&I Sling operates branches across Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Massachusetts and Tennessee; and Yale Cordage is based in Saco, Maine.

[caption id="attachment_241772" align="alignright" width="120"] Chris Chrisafides[/caption]

"For decades, our brands have earned the trust of the people who do the heaviest and most demanding work," said Mr. Chrisafides, "from riggers and linemen to mariners and working at height, by delivering equipment that performs when it matters most. Slingmax has a long history of being an industry leader, and we are thrilled to partner with The Sterling Group to execute our value creation plan for the company."

River Associates acquired Yale Cordage in July 2020, establishing the platform around the Maine rope maker. In March 2023, Yale Cordage acquired I&I Sling and Slingmax Rigging Solutions, bringing rope, slings and rigging under one owner, and the combined business was rebranded as Slingmax. In June 2026, Slingmax acquired Wisconsin Lifting Specialists, a Wisconsin-based rigging fabrication, inspection and certification business that extended the platform into the Upper Midwest.

"We are incredibly thankful for River Associates' partnership and support over the past several years," said Mr. Chrisafides. "River understood what made our business special and gave our team the resources and flexibility to build on those strengths. Together, we expanded the business while remaining focused on the quality, innovation and customer relationships that have defined Slingmax for decades. We are proud of what we accomplished together and excited about the opportunities ahead for our employees, licensees and customers."

The sale to the Foundation Fund is River's fourth portfolio exit of 2026; the firm says aggregate EBITDA across those four businesses grew 4.6 times during its ownership.

[caption id="attachment_241776" align="alignright" width="120"] Stuart Vyule[/caption]

"Chris and the entire Slingmax team have done an outstanding job building a differentiated business with a strong reputation in highly demanding end markets," said Stuart Vyule, a principal at River Associates. "It has been a privilege to partner with the team and support the company's growth over the course of our investment. Slingmax is well positioned for its next chapter, and we look forward to watching Chris and his team continue to build on the strong foundation they have established."

Slings and rigging are safety-critical consumables rather than one-time purchases: they wear, they are retired on a schedule, and in most industrial settings they must be inspected and recertified at set intervals, which gives suppliers a recurring stream of fabrication, testing and replacement work. The global lifting-sling market was about $4.2 billion in 2025 and is forecast to reach roughly $6.3 billion by 2034, a compound annual growth rate near 5.1%, according to Market Intelo, with North America accounting for about 22.5% of revenue. Demand tracks construction, electric-grid expansion, data-center build-out, offshore wind and shipbuilding, and the supplier base is fragmented across regional fabricators — the kind of market in which a national platform can grow by acquiring independents.



For the Foundation Fund, the acquisition adds a vertically integrated maker of lifting and rigging equipment serving safety-critical industrial end markets, with room to consolidate a splintered supplier base.

[caption id="attachment_241775" align="alignright" width="120"] Lucas Cutler[/caption]

"We believe Slingmax is the name customers trust when a lift is critical and there is no margin for error," said Lucas Cutler, a partner of the Foundation Fund. "The business is rooted in a commitment to safety and has deep engineering expertise that translates to high-quality performance across an array of end markets. We look forward to working with Slingmax's strong management team to accelerate growth in this next chapter."

The Sterling Group invests both equity and junior debt in basic manufacturing, distribution and industrial services businesses with enterprise values from $100 million to $1 billion. Since its founding in 1982, the firm has invested in 79 platform companies and completed transactions totaling more than $27 billion. The firm’s Foundation Fund, launched in 2023 with more than $630 million of capital, invests in lower-middle-market companies and is run from the firm’s Dallas office. The firm’s middle market funds are run from its Houston office.

River Associates invests in lower-middle-market companies in the United States and Canada with initial EBITDA of $3 million to $12 million. The firm has completed more than 130 investments and is investing its eighth fund, which holds $345 million of committed capital. River Associates was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The River Associates transaction team included Partner Craig Baker, Vice President Jacob Poe and Associate Colby Turner.

Piper Sandler was the financial advisor to River Associates.