ANDREWS, S.C., Oct. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SixAxis LLC (the "Company") announced today that Rob Honeycutt, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, plans to step down from his current role as CEO at the end of 2021. The Board of Directors has appointed Jeff Reichert to succeed Honeycutt as Chief Executive Officer on Jan. 1, 2022. Honeycutt will remain a key member of the Board of Directors, providing unparalleled insight and guidance to the company
"On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Executive Management Team, and the SixAxis ~500 employees, we want to thank Rob for his leadership, vision and impact on the organization in creating a world-class operation, from inception to what it is today," said Ken Walker, Chairperson. "The Board is sincerely grateful to Rob for his dedication to SixAxis as CEO and are looking forward to his continuing input and oversight at Board level."
Jeff's selection is the culmination of a robust, multi-year leadership development and succession planning process that has helped create a great management team with depth in all functions that will ensure a seamless transition.
"The combination of the talented SixAxis leadership team, the customer-driven durable end-market commercial portfolio that has been created, as well as a strong balance sheet, has positioned SixAxis for continued success through this transition and beyond," added Walker.
"It has been an honor to be the Co-Founder & CEO of SixAxis LLC since its inception. I want to offer my sincere thanks to Fred Harmon, my partner and friend - and to our employees whose hard work and dedication have allowed us to achieve so much over the last 20 years. I also want to thank our customers, shareholders, and the Board of Directors for their ongoing support. I have worked with Jeff for many years and know first-hand that he will be an excellent leader for SixAxis. I look forward to working closely with Jeff and the Board to execute the exciting plans that we have in place."
SafeRack President Jeff Reichert will take over the reins as SixAxis CEO. "I want to thank Rob for his visionary leadership and guidance at SixAxis, as well as the Board for its confidence in me, as I step into this role," said Reichert. "I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to work with our talented leadership team and employees around the world to advance the SixAxis growth strategy."
Honeycutt's humble beginnings began with a childhood filled with adversity and relocating dozens of times around the southeast. He did not complete college, and instead became a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman in rural South Carolina, before finally finding his spiritual home in industrial sales with an equipment company located in Florence, SC. He quickly rose to become one of the company's top salesmen while still in his early 20s.
It was during this time that Honeycutt met his future business partner, Fred Harmon. Between them, they founded SafeRack LLC, launched their first brand of products in 2002/2003, and started growing a company while facing almost impossible odds. The passionate vision involved investing nearly everything they had into a catalog of products, all the while embracing customers with unparalleled care, and solving complicated safety and productivity problems.
Rob and Fred assembled a small group of believers, and they overcame startup and unpredictable growing pains. SafeRack opened its dedicated manufacturing facility in Andrews, South Carolina, in 2005. With limited cash flow, they began operations on mostly dirt floors and began to carve out a reputation for providing innovative safety solutions for the truck and railcar loading industry - with unmatched customer service.
Their customer-centric philosophy and persistence prevailed. They began to dominate the marketplace and build the SafeRack brand into the world's premier provider for loading terminal safety equipment. During this time, Honeycutt succeeded at bringing to life a world-class manufacturing facility to support the continued growth of the company. As an out-of-the-box thinker with no preconceptions, he was able to secure dozens of patents that would enjoy double-digit annual growth still to this day.
Over the past two decades, Honeycutt and Harmon oversaw the development of many successful additional brands and products within the industrial safety space. Many are used in facilities around the world today, such as ErectaStep (the patented modular access platform and stairs system) and YellowGate (the patented industrial safety gate line of products).
During this journey, Rob and Fred also founded a unique software company, creating sales and CRM tools to enable customers to visualize their proposed solution ahead of receiving the quote for the product. This dramatically helped improve the collaborative and consultative sales process, about which Harmon and Honeycutt are both so passionate. While neither are involved in the software business today, the company still operates in Charleston, South Carolina, and the solutions developed for (and with) SixAxis are still being used to support continued growth in many industries.
The company's main offices remain in their Andrews (SC) manufacturing plant. Other teams such as Engineering and Customer Service work out of a Sumter office, while an office in England supports international sales. More than 60 Sales professionals are located across the U.S. for North American customers.
In June of 2021, SixAxis acquired Upside Innovations (located in West Chester, Ohio), and further expanded the SixAxis product family to include ADA compliant ramps and stairs. While the markets served marginally overlap those already enjoyed by SixAxis, the complementary products present further growth opportunities and strong penetration points into the modular building industry.
The dirt floor days are gone, and SixAxis employs nearly 500 employees. The company has expanded to over 300,000 square feet of high-tech manufacturing space and enjoys a multi-national sales footprint in over 50 countries. Over 11,000 customers have worked with SixAxis, and over the last 20 years. More than $1 billion (dollars) worth of equipment has been supplied around the world, improving safety and productivity for our workforce. And the company is less than 20 years old...
Rob Honeycutt resides in Pawleys Island, SC, along with his wife Julie, and their daughters Elizabeth and Mary.
About Reichert:
Jeff Reichert is a member of the SixAxis executive leadership team and currently serves as the president of SafeRack and SixAxis. He manages the day-to-day operations of the company, in addition to overseeing business strategy for the company.
Prior to SafeRack, Reichert served as the vice president of a chemical and industrial business unit of a large loading arm manufacturing company and spent the previous 15 years at a major aircraft engine manufacturer and a Japanese machine tool company.
Reichert attended Bowling Green State University and earned a Bachelor of Science in Operations and Materials Management and a Masters of Business Administration in Operations Management.
Pawleys, SC, is home for Reichert and his wife Cindy. They have four children: Aaron, Andrew, Adam and Annie.
About FCP:
Falfurrias Capital Partners is a private equity investment firm focused on acquiring or investing in a diverse portfolio of growth-oriented middle-market companies.
As a team of operators, we leverage our significant, real-world experience to bring measurable contributions and create lasting value for both our portfolio companies and limited partners.
By partnering with the most respected experts in their fields, we immerse ourselves in the industries which we invest in, identify the strongest growth opportunities, and rigorously test and learn using our expertise, data and tireless investigation.
For more information, visit www.falfurriascapital.com
Related Images
Image 1: Rob Honeycutt
Rob Honeycutt, Co-founder & CEO of SixAxis Manufacturing
Image 2: Jeff Reichert
Jeff Reichert, CEO of SixAxis Manufacturing
Image 3: SixAxis Manufacturing
SixAxis Manufacturing Facility in Andrews, South Carolina
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