Amping Up: Fort Worth Battery and EV Charger Company Acquired by PE Firm

A new-to-Fort Worth company that manufactures and distributes battery chargers, jump starters, electric vehicle chargers, and more has a new owner.

New York-based private equity firm Lincolnshire Management has completed the sale of Schumacher Electric Corp. to PE firm Ripple Industries LLC, based in Los Angeles, for an undisclosed amount. Schumacher Electric’s CEO Mickey Leech announced the sale April 20 via live stream to employees. The 75-year-old company moved its headquarters and a distribution center from Chicago last year to a site in Fort Worth with Foreign Trade Zone status, just south of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

“Lincolnshire was instrumental in helping formulate the strategies that drove our successful high-growth initiatives including our EV Series and e-commerce; now our leadership team is ready to lean in with Ripple Industries and continue that trajectory,” Leech said in a statement.

Schumacher’s Fort Worth HQ. [Courtesy photo]

Recent product launches

Living up to their tagline of “Keep it Rolling,” Schumacher recently launched a new line of Rugged Lithium jump starters, a new Ultracap battery charger and engine starter, and added new Level 2 EV wall chargers—debuting in June—to the global Schumacher EV Series. The company also has growing markets in e-commerce and in more than 60,000 brick-and-mortar retailers.

William Bishop of Ripple Industries said, “The Schumacher brand is synonymous with innovation and enhancing battery life; we share management’s vision of the big opportunities ahead as global transportation needs evolve and put greater demands on holistic power conversion solutions including battery maintenance and charging. We will move aggressively with Mickey and the entire Schumacher team to capitalize on these exciting growth opportunities.”

DFW ‘the right place’ for new investments

Schumacher Electric relocated to Fort Worth last summer, occupying 30,000 square feet of office space and a 300,000-square-foot distribution center on FAA Boulevard near Highway 360 and bringing 150 employees. Since then, the company has begun hiring an additional 100 workers and has engineering centers in DFW, Mexico, and China. The company plans to continue growing in North Texas, expanding its local innovation center and hiring more people in customer service and distribution.

“We’ve been very pleased with the talent in the DFW market and decided this is the right place to continue new investments,” Leech told Dallas Innovates.

At the time of the move, Leech said they also were drawn to Texas for its “corporate-friendly” environment.

Best known for its aftermarket automotive power conversion products, Schumacher Electric offers some of the most popular battery chargers in the industry. The Schumacher name is well known in the National Hot Rod Association. Drag racing pioneer Don Schumacher helped develop the family business after retiring from racing in 1974. He returned to the track in 1998 as owner of Don Schumacher Racing (DSR), with son Tony Schumacher as one of the team’s primary drivers. For gearheads and racing enthusiasts, the company offers the DSR Pro Series of car battery chargers and engine starters.

“Much has changed since 1947, from our products and technologies to our people and processes,” Leech said. “Schumacher was born out of a family legacy focused on power, performance, and innovation. The last few years have been marked by unprecedented challenges that have impacted everyone—from the professional to personal—on many levels. And yet, despite these challenges, the Schumacher team has continually risen to the occasion.”