GLOBAL EVOLUTION & GROWTH WITH NCA ENTREPRENEUR ADAM SALMEN
AN INTERNATIONALLY-DRIVEN CAREER PATH
Adam Salmen grew up in the US and has been drawn to a global life ever since travelling to India in the seventh grade, which inspired him to see as much of the world as possible. He was an exchange student in Germany, took part in several global humanitarian projects and studied international politics and economics at the University of Cape Town. After completing his undergraduate degree in finance at the University of Denver, Adam pursued a master’s in Global Entrepreneurship at Babson’s F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business. There he studied and consulted for local companies around the world, notably at EM-LYON in France and Zhejiang University in China.
After graduation, Adam founded a consulting company in San Francisco focused on business and marketing strategy. One of his clients was Bayer MaterialScience, who took an interest in his work experience in China. One thing led to another and in 2010, Adam found himself en route to Shanghai where he worked with Bayer (later to become Covestro) to relocate their headquarters and bring their strategy and R&D functions to China. “I loved global industry, and Bayer offered a great platform for working around the world and seeing how industrial markets worked on a global scale,” Adam said.
After three years in that role, Adam realized that if he didn’t want to specialize in Chinese business, he needed to broaden his experience to include Europe. In 2014, he moved to Germany as a Global Product Manager within the company. “I helped develop new material solutions for global industry and pioneered new technologies in Europe, the US and APAC,” said Adam. “It was a great experience, but I was still looking to get the general management experience I would need to lead a company in the future.”
A turning point came in 2016, when Adam was headhunted by Victrex in Northern England, a world leader in a ultra-high performance material called poly-aryl-ether-ketone (PAEK). “There I worked in a leadership team with really smart people from technology, operations and sales to drive their electronics-focused business,” explained Adam. “I learned a lot and after five years we had doubled the revenue of our business unit.”
Yet Adam still found himself wanting to pursue entrepreneurship and bring his globally acquired skills to a US-based company. “My first circle around the world was with Babson and the second was in industry,” he said. “But I looked at my career after 15 years and I still really wanted to have a meaningful equity position in a company I could lead. I had reached a plateau in senior management and wanted my career to expand beyond being a cog in the wheel of a large multinational company.”
A SHIFT TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Adam began researching his next steps, learned about Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA), and set out to pursue it on his own, realizing quickly that searching solo presented some challenges. “I couldn’t find anything I could buy that fit both my background and career path,” he explained. “Global industrial companies tend to range from tens or hundreds of millions to billions of dollars, not the single digit million dollars I could get with my personal savings and a SBA loan. That’s when I discovered Novastone and realized working with them would allow me to get a smaller piece of a bigger pie.”
Adam joined NCA’s Program in late 2022, focusing on bringing his multinational experience to a US-based industrial or manufacturing company. In October 2024, he found his “diamond in the rough” and successfully negotiated a recapitalization for UMECC – a steel equipment manufacturing company based in Ohio, US – where Adam stepped into a leadership role as CEO, supported by previous CEO George He.
In explaining what drew him to the company, Adam highlighted both the integrity of the team and UMECC’s proven international business. “I could see the founders are pioneers who have been working in the trenches for 30+ years. They built an established reputation of high quality and trust with their partners and customers, which takes decades and is something we are determined to maintain, ” he said. “And while ETA can be very regionally focused, I had been looking for a global expert in a very niche industry. UMECC was a perfect fit: they are experts in steel and metallurgical manufacturing equipment with base operations in North America and Asia, and an expanding customer footprint in South America, the Middle East and Europe.”
“I am thrilled to be part of developing and implementing our strategy and vision with my team,” added Adam. “UMECC is a competitive best: they have the ability to offer the best products at a great price with short lead times. I’m honored to be carrying such a strong American steel legacy forward and continuing the path this company has built as we step into this new phase of growth.”
CREDIBILITY, COMMITMENT & LESSONS LEARNED
Looking back over his ETA experience, Adam noted it was not without challenges and that partnering with NCA had helped ensure his success. “Having gone through this whole process, I’m so thankful for the people I’ve met, the network I’ve built and the lessons I’ve learned,” he said. “NCA’s program gave me a credible off-ramp from the corporate world where I could cover my living expenses while looking for my next opportunity, have access to an investor base and work with a team that has proven transaction experience. I had two years to find what I was looking for and make my dream happen, and I wouldn’t have been successful without a platform like Novastone’s,” he said.
Adam encourages other searchers to stay committed in the face of challenges. “We had a first group of investors sponsoring the search and initially not all of them were interested in following on,” he said. “Most search fund investors are looking for simple, regional businesses they can understand and UMECC was not that type of investment. One of my potential investors backed out, saying, ‘you are dancing with giants, on a global scale’” Adam recalled with a chuckle. “And that was precisely what I was looking for…” “So, while that investment is not for everyone, I needed to have the confidence to stick with it and stay firm in my belief that it’s the right opportunity. Investors are reading your confidence just as much as your business plan, and you can’t be deflated when the first five people you talk to aren’t convinced off the bat. I learned I had to shift paradigms, which ended up leading to a better group of investors who actually understand my business and can help with value creation.”
Adam also faced some initial challenges in building a deep, regional network in the US and highlighted the NCA Digital, Data and Operations (DDO) team’s support. “While my network was inherently global, I needed to find a company in North America,” he explained. “I had to work hard to meet the right people – including lending partners and business owners – in the right industries with global reach. The NCA platform and DDO team gave me access to this kind of information, and the more people I networked with, the quicker I got my pipeline moving.”
Adam also cited the key role played by the NCA M&A team. “I had some M&A experience, but doing everything in an M&A deal is really involved and requires a finely tuned skillset,” he explained. “Banks want a different model than investors, and they care about different issues. The M&A team allowed me to navigate these nuances and added incredible rigor, helping me prioritize and elevate opportunities quickly and analytically. You can’t fall in love with a deal because sometimes things come up in diligence and you simply can’t move forward. Investors are putting their faith in you to make the right decision and navigate that company to achieve continued success, so you have to stay rational and neutral.”
Adam also extended his thanks to the NCA legal team, who he said offered critical support when looking through the documents, being an advocate for him and at times even being a mediator. “I learned a lot about the legal documentation and contract negotiation from our internal legal team and our external counsel, so I can’t thank them enough.”
ETA: SOLUTIONS FOR SUCCESSION CHALLENGES
When asked about ETA and how it can address succession challenges, Adam said: “ETA comes into play beautifully when founders have worked for decades to build a good company but are not sure how to best transition to new ownership. Sometimes the family’s next generation is not interested in their parents’ business. Sometimes internal leaders within the company emerge, but they may not be familiar with the management buyout process. UMECC was a hybrid of these two situations. They didn’t have the perfect solution for what came next, but our deal presented a unique succession and recapitalization solution: it offered an off ramp for those looking to exit or retire, allowed management to buy in, and included a proven executive who the former CEO trusts to lead the company into the next phase of growth.”
Former CEO George He remains on board in partnership with Adam within the new management structure. He noted the priceless value in NCA’s vetting and subsequent provision of the most suited new CEO, ensuring the continuity of UMECC’s business legacy. “Our partnership with Adam will drive UMECC’s future success, offering enhanced financial stability, an increased capacity for service and development, and extensive growth opportunities,” he said. “We look forward to this new era as a trusted partner – known for our commitment to quality and reliability – complimented by Adam’s fresh energy and innovative solutions.”
For more information about Adam please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-salmen131a675/
For more information about UMECC please visit: https://umecc.com/about.html