March 25, 2024 – Today, Certus announced the acquisition of Paulson Training ("Paulson"), a market leader in providing digital and instructor-led technical training and certification solutions for plastics manufacturing and scientific injection molding. The acquisition will deepen and expand Certus' portfolio of industrial skills and simulations offerings while also enhancing both companies' abilities to serve customers in manufacturing, automotive and medical industries.
"We are adding a talented team that has revolutionized their industry, and we are excited to have them join our business-to-business portfolio of brands," said Holly Falcaro, Executive Vice President at Certus. "We see a very real opportunity to scale the Paulson business and leverage our joint capabilities to offer new and enhanced solutions to our learners."
Paulson Training has provided top-tier training solutions for nearly 50 years. Its experienced team and science-based content library, including their advanced simulation technology, SimtechTM, has helped educate and upskill over 50,000 plastics professionals across 5,000 companies. The company and curriculum were originally developed by Donald Paulson, a 2021 inductee to the Plastics Hall of Fame.
"We are delighted and thrilled to join Certus in helping to expand their mission of bridging the skills gap," said Karen Paulson, President of Paulson Training. "Founded by my father, Paulson has built a legacy and reputation of innovation, research and unwavering commitment to excellence. Through our training solutions, we've impacted the livelihoods of thousands of individuals and plastics professionals on a global scale. We are very proud of our efforts and are excited for this next era of growth, considering it a privilege to deliver even greater value for our customers."
Paulson will continue to serve its customers through its current brand and services, now with the added support of the Certus platform.
"Paulson is a perfect fit for Certus, and we are honored to partner with them in this next chapter," said John Comly, CEO of Certus. "We look forward to meaningfully building on what is already an innovative and powerful player in the industry."
Certus is a portfolio company of Ridgemont Equity Partners, a middle market private equity firm. Certus and Ridgemont are actively seeking acquisition candidates that are established leaders in the online training, education, certification and compliance sectors.
About Certus
Certus is a leading professional training and certification platform that provides content, simulations and compliance solutions for regulated end-markets through its suite of brands and companies. Its best-in-class technology platform and content library enable enterprises, learners, professionals and government entities to get from where they are to where they want to be.
About Paulson Training
Paulson Training Programs, Inc. is an innovative plastics training company upskilling learners with science-based injection molding and extrusion technology through its premium digital courseware, simulation, and instructor-led Certification seminars. Paulson helped revolutionize the industry by introducing and teaching part production from the "Plastics Point of View," transforming processing from an art to a science and helping processors achieve and foster more efficient operations. Over 5,000 companies and 50,000 plastics professionals worldwide subscribe to and benefit from Paulson's powerful, flexible, and proven training solutions. www.paulsontraining.com
About Ridgemont Equity Partners
Ridgemont Equity Partners is a Charlotte-based middle market private equity firm that has provided buyout and growth capital to industry-leading companies in the business and tech-enabled services, industrial growth and healthcare sectors for three decades. The principals of Ridgemont have refined a proven, industry-focused model designed to build distinctive middle market companies. www.ridgemontep.com
