Why This Matters to Distributors: Triad Technologies is expanding its filtration business with the acquisition of Filtration Corporation of America, adding specialized aviation fueling products and technical expertise. The deal also extends Triad’s acquisition strategy into another specialized product category as the distributor looks for additional growth in filtration.
Triad Technologies has acquired Filtration Corporation of America, adding aviation fueling and filtration capabilities to the industrial distributor’s growing portfolio.
The transaction closed Oct. 1 and was announced Oct. 4. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Glen Ellyn, Illinois-based Filtration Corporation of America, or FCA, was founded in 1976 and distributes filtration and fueling-system components to aviation service providers, storage terminals, equipment manufacturers, and airports.
The company’s products include aviation filtration systems, filter vessels, fuel-testing equipment, petroleum-handling equipment, pressure-control valves, and aircraft refueling nozzles.
For Vandalia, Ohio-based Triad, the acquisition expands into a filtration business that is part of a broader product portfolio spanning hydraulics, pneumatics, automation, fluid connectors, lubrication, and instrumentation. Triad also provides engineered systems, repair and fabrication, vendor-managed inventory, kitting, and other technical services.
“Filtration is an area we have been deliberate about expanding, and FCA gives us both the product breadth and the technical depth to do it well,” Triad President and CEO Greg Wissman said.
Wissman said FCA’s position in aviation fueling, combined with Triad’s distribution platform, will allow the companies to offer a broader range of filtration and fluid-handling products. He also said Triad expects to continue expanding its filtration business through additional investments and acquisitions.
FCA will retain its name and operate as a division of Triad. Its existing employees and customer relationships will remain in place, with no immediate changes to customer contacts, invoicing, or purchasing procedures.
The acquisition also adds to Triad’s presence in the aviation market and brings FCA’s relationships with Parker Hannifin brands Velcon and Meggitt into the broader Triad platform.
FCA co-owners Gordon Tompkinson and Brian Tompkinson are the second generation of their family to operate the business, which was founded by their father 50 years ago.
Triad was founded in 1981 and has expanded through a series of acquisitions and branch openings. The company currently operates 33 locations across Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Kentucky.
Its most recent acquisition before FCA was the 2023 purchase of Tech-Syn Corp., an Illinois-based distributor of seals, O-rings, and related products. Triad has also acquired businesses specializing in industrial hose, fluid power, automation, and related technologies.
Private equity firm Shorehill Capital acquired an ownership interest in Triad in 2019 in partnership with the company’s management and the Wissman family. Shorehill continues to identify Triad as a platform seeking add-on acquisitions of fluid-power, industrial-hose, automation, and sealing distributors.
The FCA acquisition extends that strategy into a specialized aviation filtration and fueling market while giving Triad another platform for expansion in filtration.
Triad did not disclose FCA’s annual revenue or number of employees.
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