Key Takeaways
- • Brightstar Capital Partners has acquired a majority interest in Material Handling Group USA (MHG), a technician-led provider of new, used, and rental material handling equipment and aftermarket parts and service; financial terms were not disclosed.
- • CEO Roger Runyan will continue to lead MHG and he and his management team will retain a meaningful ownership stake.
- • Jonathan Dawley, former President and CEO of KION North America, will serve as Executive Chair, drawing on more than two decades of material handling industry experience.
- • The deal is part of Brightstar's dedicated lower middle market strategy, which targets founder-, family-, and entrepreneur-led businesses; Brightstar manages approximately $5 billion in AUM.
- • Brightstar plans to invest in the technician workforce and deploy AI tools in service dispatch, diagnostics, and predictive maintenance, with growth expected both organically and through selective M&A.
Summary
Brightstar Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm with approximately $5 billion in assets under management, has acquired a majority interest in Material Handling Group USA (MHG), according to a Business Wire announcement dated October 20, 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed. Headquartered in Canton, Michigan, MHG provides new, used, and rental material handling equipment along with aftermarket parts and service through its Fraza, Vitan Equipment, Matthai Material Handling, and Buffalo Lift Trucks brands. The company serves customers across Michigan, New York, and the Mid-Atlantic region.
MHG traces its origins to a single-location forklift repair shop in Detroit founded in 1938. Roger Runyan acquired the business in 2017 after more than 20 years with the company and has grown it into an integrated regional platform. Aftermarket service, parts, and rental form a recurring revenue base across each of the company's brands, which the release positions as critical to warehousing, logistics, and manufacturing operations.
Runyan will remain CEO and retain a meaningful ownership stake alongside his management team. Brightstar is partnering with Jonathan Dawley, former President and CEO of KION North America, who will serve as Executive Chair of the company.
Charles Yoon, Partner at Brightstar and Managing Partner of its lower middle market strategy, said MHG's technician-led model is suited to demand from distribution buildout, reshoring, and the shift toward automated warehouses, which is expanding the equipment base requiring skilled service. Yoon said the company is well positioned for growth both organically and through selective M&A. Sean Courtney, Managing Director at Brightstar, said the firm plans to invest in the technician workforce and bring AI tools to the front line, including technician onboarding, diagnostics, smarter service dispatch, and predictive maintenance.
MHG traces its origins to a single-location forklift repair shop in Detroit founded in 1938. Roger Runyan acquired the business in 2017 after more than 20 years with the company and has grown it into an integrated regional platform. Aftermarket service, parts, and rental form a recurring revenue base across each of the company's brands, which the release positions as critical to warehousing, logistics, and manufacturing operations.
Runyan will remain CEO and retain a meaningful ownership stake alongside his management team. Brightstar is partnering with Jonathan Dawley, former President and CEO of KION North America, who will serve as Executive Chair of the company.
Charles Yoon, Partner at Brightstar and Managing Partner of its lower middle market strategy, said MHG's technician-led model is suited to demand from distribution buildout, reshoring, and the shift toward automated warehouses, which is expanding the equipment base requiring skilled service. Yoon said the company is well positioned for growth both organically and through selective M&A. Sean Courtney, Managing Director at Brightstar, said the firm plans to invest in the technician workforce and bring AI tools to the front line, including technician onboarding, diagnostics, smarter service dispatch, and predictive maintenance.
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