Santa Monica-based private equity firm Sole Source Capital agreed to purchase two manufacturers that specialize in automatic identification, data capture and factory automation, the firm announced April. 9.

Sole Source, which holds a portfolio of industrial-focused companies, bought Columbia, Md.-based Peak-Ryzex from Chicago-based private equity firm Keystone Capital Inc. Peak-Ryzex has seven locations in the United States and two in the United Kingdom.

Sole Source also agreed to buy Littleton, Mass.-based Optical Phusion Inc. from its founders.

Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

The companies will be merged and led by Peak-Ryzex Chief Executive Juliann Larimer and Chief Financial Officer Michele Adams, along with Optical Phusion President Tony Rivers.
 
The acquisitions mean that Sole Source has assembled a fragmented industry of related technologies under one roof in less than a year.

Automatic identification and data capture refers to the methods of automatically identifying objects, collecting data about them, and entering them directly into computer systems, without human involvement.

These technologies include everything from scanning barcodes on food labels at the supermarket to scanning documents and inventory for supply-chain logistical support.

The transactions mark Sole Source’s fifth and sixth investments in the automatic identification and data capture space, following the purchase of Oakdale, Minn.-based Supply Chain Services in May 2020, the acquisition of Baine, Minn.-based Dasco Label in August, the pickup of Waukesha, Wis.-based Miles Data Technologies in October and a deal for Chanhassen, Minn.-based Coridian Technologies Inc. in December.

The acquisitions of Peak-Ryzex and Optical Phusion are “a natural fit with our investment thesis, as we are a thematically-driven firm and automation is a strong area of focus," David Fredston, founder and managing partner of Sole Source, said in a statement.

“We are confident in the cultural fit between Peak-Ryzex and (Optical Phusion), and we are excited to pool our collective resources in the pursuit of building a larger, forward-thinking business to grow with the increased digitization of the supply chain,” Fredston said.